Powerless
by TheMightyBloo
Summary: Grimmjow wakes after her fight with Ichigo to find that she's a...Human? Now, she's stuck in the world of the living. And a certain someone finds her and offers his help, and they manage to find common ground. Fem!GrimmXIchi Better description inside.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi there! I'm xbloody-mangax, and this is my second upload. It's a FemGrimmxIchi fic. The reason I made this a gender bender is because I can't write Yaoi. I've tried, but it doesn't work. I dunno what it is, genetic defect is my guess lol. The problem is that Grimmjow and Ichigo look so good together and I've been wanting to write about it for a while now and I've seen a few other bender fics out there and decided to try my hand in it.

**Summary:** Grimmjow wakes after her fight with Ichigo to find that she's a...Human? Now, she's stuck in the world of the living, left to fend for herself. Until a certain someone finds her and offers his help, and they manage to find common ground. Can they forget their past and move on?

So, without further delay...

**Chapter 1**

Grimmjows eyes opened slowly, expecting a blinding pain to shoot through her body as she remembered her fight with Kurosaki, but it never came. Her eyes opened the rest of the way, but her vision was out of focus. She tried in vain to see where she was, but she couldn't put a name to the place. She felt like she'd been there before, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She imagined how pathetic she looked to anyone who could have been watching as she looked around her, confused. Everything slowly came into focus as her eyes adjusted to the bright light that was coming from above. There was a building to her left, made of brick, a similar building to her right, and a final wall behind her. The fact that they were made of brick told her she was in the human world, but she had no idea how she got there.

She pushed on the concrete ground and stood, feeling a wave of dizziness come over her. She stumbled, but caught herself on the brick wall to her right. This was when she noticed something was wrong. A bumpy part of the brick scratched her when her hand scraped across the surface. She brought her hand up, staring at the scratch in awe. _How the fuck did that wall get through my hierro? _She thought to herself.

Curious, she examined the wall, but it looked like just a wall. Next she examined her hand, and that too looked normal. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Her hands instantly went down to her stomach, where her hollow hole is, or at least where it _should_ be, but it wasn't there.

As you could imagine, Grimmjow was freaking out now. She stormed out of the alley, looking for someone, anyone, she expected to walk out and see the faces of the other Espada, laughing at a joke that they came up with and Szayel standing with an antidote behind his back and a stupid grin. It must have been early morning because no one was near the opening when she got there, not even any Espada.

She noticed a window to her left and stood in front of it, staring at her reflection. She looked the same, for the most part, but her mask wasn't there. Her short blue hair still looked untamed and fell over her face, and her eyes were still shocking blue with the green tattoos under them, but she wasn't in her Espada uniform, in it's place was a white tank top that ended just above where her hollow hole was, covering her exceptional bust, and a white jacket with a black inside, kind of like her old Espada jacket but made from something different and it didn't have a collar like her old one. Her hakama was gone too, replaced with long white cargo pants that fit loosely and a black belt to hold them up. Overall, it was like a human version of her Espada uniform.

"Shit..." Grimmjow mumbled as she put together what must have happened. Kurosaki must have killed her and she came back as a human somehow. This whole situation sucked. Not knowing what else to do, she started wandering deeper into the city.

Turned out that was a decent idea because she found more people. By the looks of it, she was at least still in Japan. Not that it mattered, she hadn't been alive in so long that she was clueless as to how things went here. She couldn't even remember her human life.

As she got even further into the big city, there were even more people. More people than Grimmjow had ever seen before. She always assumed that there were about as much people as there were hollows, but this city proved her wrong in a big way. Perhaps the weirdest part was how these people moved. She couldn't even count the amount of people that just pushed her out of their way. She'd known some of the most aggressive hollows out there, but they had nothing on these people when they were going somewhere. Sure, you didn't really have to worry about humans shooting you in the back with a cero, but that's just because they're too weak to use the cero. If they could, there would be ceros everywhere.

When Grimmjow saw yet another huge group of people walking toward her, she decided to jump into a nearby alley instead of try to get through the vicious group. They passed her, shoving and clawing their way to get further. Like it really mattered if they were 5 seconds earlier to wherever they were going.

After the pack of humans passed, Grimmjow walked out of the alley, giving up on the city, she headed back the way she came. It was going to be a long day.

Ichigo headed home from school, feeling particularly depressed that day. The loss of his powers effected his life way more than he thought it would. He thought that he could just fall back into his old routine, like nothing happened, but that was proving to be impossible. Especially when Ishida or Chad would rush out of class, saying they were going to the bathroom and sprinting away. Ichigo knew where they were really going.

The fact that his friends were rushing off to fight hollows by themselves made him feel useless. He couldn't protect them anymore and it killed him inside to see that they were risking their lives protecting him. Even though it had been almost a half a year, it felt like just yesterday he was saving Orihime from Aizen and his Espada.

"Kurosaki-kun!" He heard shouted from behind him. He turned around to see none other than Orihime running towards him.

"Yo." He greeted apatheticly, something that was becoming a habit for him. It seemed to worry his friends but he couldn't bring himself to be more excited about anything anymore. He wanted to, but it seemed like every time he talked to them there was an elephant in the room and they couldn't understand what it's like to lose all their power.

"Um, well, you see, a few of us, like Ishida and Chad and Tatsuki and me, were going to see a movie or something and we were wonder if you maybe wanted to go?" She asked, in the same nervousness she always seemed to have around him. He thought about it for a moment, but eventually sighed and he could see the disappointed looked in his friends eyes. She knew what he was going to say.

"Eh, I got a lot of homework and stuff to do at the clinic tonight, I don't think I can. Maybe next time." He said, but they both knew it was a lie. He'd have to come up with a new excuse later.

"Okay then..." Orihime said quietly and Ichigo felt guilty.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school then, eh?" He said with a forced smile, she smiled back so he figured that she believed him.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Maybe some other time we can hang out too." She said excitedly before running back to Ishida and the others.

After she bounced away, Ichigo let his fake smile drop and started head home again, wondering if he'd ever be able to get over losing his powers.

Grimmjow was glad that she finally got out of the city, but now she was in a part of town that was very unnerving. All the buildings looked like they were falling apart and there were some shady looking people in the alleys. When they noticed her walk by, they stared at her and she tried not to go and hit them. She knew that she could beat them if she was still an Arrancar, but as a weak little human? That might be a little tougher.

So she just kept walking and ignored them. Eventually, at the end of the town, she found a seemingly empty alley and cautiously walked in. Turns out it wasn't empty. There was a guy passed out, with a half full green bottle bottle in his hand. She didn't know what was in it but it smelt horrid, so she left it alone, but on the other side of his, there was what looked like a roll out blanket. She was sure that humans had a special name for it but she didn't know it. Slowly and gently, she moved it away from his side and took it for herself.

With that, she walked out of the alley with her new bed. Maybe being a human wasn't so hard after all? She continued down the street, out of the city and towards a small town that wasn't so far away. There was a sign that said something, Grimmjow was sure it was the name of the town, but she didn't know how to read. When you're an Espada, there's no reason to read unless you like stupid human books, like Ulquiorra, but they just bored Grimmjow to no end, so she forgot how to read. She never thought it'd come back to bite her like this.

So she continued into the unnamed town. She kept having this strange feeling that she recognized the town, but she couldn't remember where she'd seen it before, so she shrugged off the thought and continued down the empty road as the sun went down.

By the time she reached the tiny town, it was dark out. Grimmjow was tired, all that walking wore her human body out like crazy. So now she was tired and in the middle of a town that she was sure she'd been to before but couldn't remember when or where. She made her way to another alley. The human world seemed to have them everywhere and it seemed like a great place to spend the night. Fate however, had a different plan, because as she set her new blanket thing, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Well well, what do we have here? You lost, babe? You want me to help you with that sleeping bag? It looks pretty big, think it could fit two?" It was a mans voice, Grimmjow could tell. It was deep and loud too, so she figured it was a bigger guy and when she turned to face him she saw she was right. He was big, and the two other guys behind him were big too.

"I think I can figure out a sleeping bag, buddy. Now fuck off, it doesn't fit two, and if it did, it still wouldn't have room for you." She said in a tone that used to make Numero run in fear, but the three guys didn't seem deterred at all as they kept walking toward her. They stopped just a few meters away, but Grimmjow still stood tall, never breaking eye contact with the leader.

"Feisty. I like that in a woman." He said with a cocky smile.

"That's too bad, because you're not my type. Too stupid for me." Grimmjow shot back, hoping he'd leave her alone, but getting ready for a fight.

"That's alright, you don't have to like me for me to get what I want." He said, and closed the gap between him and Grimmjow. Grimmjow didn't need any more invitation then that and punched him square in the nose, putting her whole body into the punch.

He stumbled back, caught off guard, and clutching his now bleeding nose in pain. His two friends flanked Grimmjow at both sides and tried to grab her. She dodged one hand and kicked the owner in the stomach, but her foot was met with solid muscle and the guy barely stumbled. The third guy capitalized on the opportunity and grabbed Grimmjow from behind. She struggled against him, but he as just to big and the leader was already standing in front of Grimmjow, ignoring his bloody nose.

"You'll pay for that one, bitch." He said in a deadly tone as he drew his fist back and punched Grimmjow in the stomach. She could feel a bone break at the hit and bit back a scream of pain. The guy must have thought that was funny because he let out a laugh and the guy hold Grimmjow dropped her, letting her fall to the floor, gasping for breath, She wasn't going down that easy though. After she hit the ground, she swept her leg across the ground and hit the leader's foot as he leaned back laughing, causing him to fall back. A smile came across her face as she heard the impact of his head hitting the hard ground.

"What the fuck?" This time the guy she kicked earlier was talking as their leader rolled on the floor, gravity obviously got the better of him, because his head was bleeding and he stayed down for a few moments.

While the leader was down, one of the guys gave a huge kick to the same place she was punched and this time she couldn't hold the scream of pain back. The guys boots were steel toed, she found out. She could taste blood in her mouth as she rolled over on her side.

"Pick her up." She heard the leader say and he did not sound happy. Then she felt herself get lifted from the ground. The leader held her head up, making her look him in the eye as he brought his fist back. He rammed it in the side of her face and her head flung to the other side. Before she could recover, she felt another hit to the other side of her face.

"Are you ready to give up yet?" The leader asked as Grimmjow regained her senses. Her mouth was full of blood, so she put it to good use and spit a mouthful of blood right in his face.

She looked up at him, a crooked cocky smile on her face as she saw his face go red and he stared at her, so mad it looked like his head would explode if he didn't let his rage out. Fortunately for him he did, using Grimmjow as his punching bag.

Ichigo wasn't gonna lie to himself. He was regretting turning Orihime down. Staying home did nothing to help his depression. In fact, he got so bored that he decided to go for a walk around town, even though it was eleven o'clock at at night and the streets got dangerous around this time, but he knew he could handle himself.

So that's where he was now. About a mile away from his house, trying to get his mind off of things, when he heard a sound that he could recognize from anywhere, having heard it so much. It was the sound of a huge punch connecting with flesh, followed closely by a suppressed wail of pain.

Without thinking, Ichigo took off towards to noise, knowing that someone needed his help, and feeling the rush of adrenaline he felt before some of his most epic battles as a Shinigami come back to him.

He turned down an alley to a horrific scene. He saw two huge guys holding up a young girl, who looked battered and beaten all over, and another big guy standing in front of her with a smug smirk.

"Not so tough now, are you? Now how about we have some real fun now?" The guy spoke, and he put his hands around the poor girls hips, beginning to pull her pants down. However, before he got more than an inch, the girl kicked him right between the legs, causing the guy to let out a holler of pain before looking back at the girl, pissed.

Whatever he was going to do next remains a mystery because in the next second, Ichigo kicked the man in the side of the head, sending him flying down the alley. The other two guys dropped the girl face down, and all Ichigo could make out about her was that her hair was bright blue, which he found odd. He'd only seen one other person with blue hair.

He didn't have time to study her anymore because the other two thugs were advancing on Ichigo.

"Kid, I dunno who you are, but you just made the biggest mistake of your life." The thug said, drawing a blade from his jacket pocket. Ichigo tensed as he saw the moonlight reflect off of the blade, but he knew he still wasn't in too much trouble, considering his heightened reflexes.

The man who spoke took a step toward Ichigo and the fight began. There was a few close calls, but in the end, the thugs fell. Ichigo held up the last thug out of the two that was standing, getting ready to knock him out, but a sound from behind his triggered his senses. He looked back and saw the first guy was up, and lunging at him with a knife. Ichigo braced himself for the blade to hit, but instead he saw a blue blur take down the assailant.

Ichigo stood there, dumbfounded, before he figured out what happened and realized that the girl they were beating up had tackled the man. It didn't last long though, as the thug threw the girl off of him, stabbing her in the process. Ichigo reacted on instinct as he took out the thug in two hits.

He rushed over to the girl, know she was hurt bad.

"Jesus, are you okay, where did he get you?" He asked franticly, as he rolled her over. When he saw her face his jaw almost dropped to the floor. It was Grimmjow. The Arrancar that tried to kill him, his sworn enemy. Has he finally gone crazy?

"K-Kurosaki?" Grimmjow asked, her face contorted with confusion. The expression remained for a moment before her eyes shut and she went limp in his arms. Ichigo had almost forgotten the stab wound in his shock and just stared for a moment before picking her up in his arms, running back to the clinic.

_What the hell have I gotten myself into?_

**A/N: **Alright, so there's the first chapter. It's not so interesting yet, but please, just bear with me, I have a few good ideas for this one and I swear the next chapter won't be so boring.

So, tell me what you thought about this first chapter then =] All reviews are welcome, even flames. Tell me what I'm doing wrong, it helps me learn. And your reviews make me smile =]


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Alrighty, here we go again for Chapter 2! Few things I wanna say first though.

First is about the reviews, thank you to everyone for the wonderful reviews, they make my day brighter, especially Betrayal Is Beautiful, it was very nice and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Next, and I meant to put this in the end A/N of chapter 1 but I forgot, when I was describing Grimmjow in the last chapter I was using this pic as a reference: http:/lady-ra(DOT)deviantart(DOT)com/art/FemGrimmjow-182124721. Minus the mask and hole, of course.

I own nothing by the way. On to the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Ichigo inspected Grimmjow's wounds as he ran back to the clinic. It was bad, but the worst was obviously the knife wound to the stomach she suffered when she tackled the thug to the ground. It was bleeding uncontrollably and Ichigo knew that she wouldn't make it to the clinic at this rate and he had to do something. Fast.

He stopped his sprint and set her down for a moment as he looked at the wound closer. He pushed down on it, applying pressure, and took off her jacket, the white fabric was stained with crimson and he grimaced, he had underestimated the injury by far and she was losing blood faster than he thought. Quickly, he tied the jacket around her stomach wound as tight as he could and the blood seemed to be slowing.

Satisfied with the results, he scooped her up in his arms again, bridal style, and began running to the clinic again. He was glad that there weren't many cars out at this time of night because they would have slowed him down a lot.

After what seemed like days of running, he got back to the clinic and burst through the door, knowing his dad would still be awake. He was glad that Yuzu and Karin were asleep though, because this much blood would just scare them.

His dad was indeed awake and noticed Ichigo as he stormed in, about to give a casual greeting before he noticed the dying girl in his hands. Isshin stood instantly and ran over to his son, taking the girl from his hands and walking towards the urgent care room in the back.

"What happened?" Isshin asked in a worried voice, his paternal instincts kicking in.

"She was stabbed and beaten up by a bunch of thugs. I found her on my walk." Ichigo said, a hint of worry in his voice as well. He was baffled, here was the person who tried to kill him the most and would have watched him die with a smile on her face, dying in front of him and he was _worried_ about her? Why wasn't he happy that his enemy wasn't a threat anymore?

"Alright, go ahead and get the emergency kit ready and I'll get her in the room." Isshin said.

Hours passed and neither Ichigo or his dad were able to get any sort of sleep because they were working on Grimmjow, Isshin was doing most of the work but Ichigo helped where he could. Finally though, she was stable. She looked like she'd gone through hell, but she was alive and that's what's important. She was covered in bruises and she'd broken a few ribs, but the scariest wound was still the stab, it took so much blood that it left her pale as a ghost, except for the bruises.

It was weird, seeing her like that. He was used to her looking so strong and determined that seeing her like this was just... strange. During the operation, Ichigo looked for any sign that she was in a Gigai or something like it, but everything looked completely human, and that was what baffled his the most.

At that moment, Isshin walked in and sat next to him. His dad gave him a reassuring look, but Ichigo's expression didn't change as he was puzzled.

"What's bothering you, son? She'll be fine in a few days." Isshin said, but they didn't help Ichigo's confusion at all.

"It's not that. It's just... Dad, that's not an ordinary girl." Ichigo replied, trying to find the right way to word it.

"What do you mean?" His dad asked, seriously reading Ichigo's expression.

"Dad, during the war with Aizen, I killed her! She was an Espada and I found her in the human world! How could that happen?" He asked his dad, still struggling to find answers himself. He looked to his father and their expressions were identical.

"Are you sure about this? It's not just someone who looks like her?" Isshin asked after a long pause.

"Positive. When I first saw her, she was conscious just long enough to say my name, but I never told it to her except for when she was an Espada." Ichigo replied and his dad just nodded again, absorbing the information.

"I see. We'll have to keep an eye on her, but I don't think we need to worry too much, she's definitely just a human right now. I don't know how it happened, but she can't do any real damage to anyone in that beat up body either. When she's better, we'll take her to Urahara and he'll know what to do for sure." His dad said, finalizing the plan of action.

"Alright." Ichigo agreed. He stared back at the still form of Grimmjow with curious eyes. He'd wait until she woke up, then figure out what she's doing here.

* * *

Ichigo had tried to stay out of Grimmjow's room, but he just couldn't. Eventually he just gave up and sat in the chair next to the bed, doing homework. The only sound in the room was the soft breathing of the girl in the bed, that hitched every now and then. Ichigo couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked while she slept. When she was awake, Grimmjow was always doing something and making noise and being so full of energy, but when she slept, she was completely still.

He noticed that her arm was around her extra pillow, holding it close to her almost like a hug. She looked like she was having a good dream, despite the fact that he knew she was in pain. He thought it was weird that he wasn't afraid of her anymore. It had been six months since he'd seen her last and the bitter feeling seemed to fade away in that time.

When he asked Orihime what it was like in Las Noches, she told him that it seemed like no one wanted to be there, and that they were only there because Aizen would kill them if they weren't. It was as if the Espada themselves were prisoners right next to her. However, she also admitted that she didn't see much of Grimmjow, mostly just Ulquiorra, and Ichigo wasn't sure of the extent of their relationship, but she wasn't the same after he died.

Maybe that's why Grimmjow was always so mad. She'd had a hard life, forced to work for Aizen, surviving as a hollow for so long, her anger was the only thing that seemed to keep her alive in those desperate times. He wondered what she would be like when she woke up. Would she still be so angry, or will the fact that she's a human change her at all?

He tried to focus on his homework again, but it was still proving to be difficult. He looked to where her mask used to be. She looked a lot better without it, because it used to give her a more angry look and remind him that she wasn't human. It wasn't there now and he looked at her differently, like an actual being. He used to just think of her as an enemy, and nothing more, but now she was a being, with actual feelings.

He remembered the night before, seeing her weaker than he could have imagined before. Granted, he'd seen her dying, dead, and right on the verge, but all those times she still looked strong. Last night she looked like she was about to give up, like she was about to just let those thugs get what they wanted so they'd leave, before her resolve kicked in and she fought back.

Her presence in the human world intrigued him to no end, and he hoped that she had some answers for his many questions when she woke up. Until then, however, he'd settle for just staring and thinking. She also looked a lot different in his clothes. They'd discarded her bloodstained ones and his dad replaced them with a plain white shirt and some of his sleeping pants. They were too big but it didn't really matter that much at the moment.

"Ichigo?" A voice woke him from his daze. He looked up to Grimmjow's face. Her eyes were open and she looked really confused as she looked around the room like a cat would. Her eyes settled back on him, asking for answers to her unspoken questions.

"Good morning, Grimmjow," Ichigo said quietly and she nodded slightly at his greeting, "Do you remember anything that happened yesterday?"

She nodded again, slowly, looking as if she was thinking. Her hand went to her cheek, where her mask was, as if to verify what she'd just remembered.

"I'm human," She said softly, almost to herself, "I woke up in a big city like this. I wandered for a bit before I decided that I didn't like it there and left. That's when I got here, and those bastards found me. Did you kick their asses for me?" She asked, getting over her daze and becoming her regular self again.

Ichigo laughed a little at her comment before replying. "Yeah, I did. Next time they might think twice before attacking someone like that." He said. An awkward silence hung after that, neither Grimmjow or Ichigo knew what to say at a time like this. They didn't know if they should bring up the past or forget about it, and he didn't know if he should grill her about how she got here. After the silence went on for almost five minutes, Ichigo broke it.

"What's the last thing you remember from before you woke up here?" He asked. She looked up at him, her eyes reading his expression for any sign of distrust. She seemed satisfied after her inspection and answered.

"Our fight, then Nnoitra blindsiding me. I'm pretty sure I died a little bit after that, but I guess I was wrong since I'm here. But I am a human so maybe I did die... What ever happened to that bastard Aizen? Did you kill him?" She asked and Ichigo was relieved that she wanted him dead, because that meant she wasn't on some secret mission. Of course she could be lying though, but she didn't look like it.

"I didn't kill him, but Soul Society has him now and he's no longer a threat. Did you want to see him dead?" He asked, trying to figure out if she could be trusted.

"Dead? I wouldn't mind that, but I'd rather see him in the deepest parts of hell, in all kinds of pain, hah. But I guess being in Soul Society's hands ain't much different from that, eh?" A grin appeared on her face, different than any other grin Ichigo had seen from her before. This one didn't hold hate or blood lust, instead a look of happiness, or maybe relief.

"If you hated him so much, why did you follow his orders?" Ichigo asked and Grimmjow's happy grin disappeared as fast as it came, causing Ichigo to feel guilty for killing her joy, but he needed these answers to know if he could trust her.

"Workin' for him sucked, that's true, but it was better than being in the cells. Shit, the things he did to people who rebelled too much, it was disgusting. Enough to make even _me_ do what he'd say. Some days, when I pissed him off just a little too much, he'd send me down there for a night. Worst nights of my life that's for sure, but the worst part was not knowing if he'd come back ta get ya or if he was just gonna leave ya there like the rest of them, ya know? I guess that's why everyone followed him. Except maybe Ulquiorra, he seemed to take pleasure in serving Aizen, for some reason." Grimmjow said and Ichigo listened intently, learning a lot about his former enemy. She laughed a little at her last comment, but broke off into a coughing fit and her hand clutched her stomach, where she was stabbed.

Ichigo waited for her coughing to stop, and it did, but it left her panting and shaking.

"I think I can trust you," Ichigo started, "so I'm not going to send you to Soul Society or anything like that. I want you to rest, and tomorrow we'll go see Urahara, and he'll help us."

She nodded in response, drifting back to a peaceful slumber. Ichigo stayed for another half hour before heading upstairs to get some sleep himself.

* * *

The next morning Grimmjow woke from another peaceful sleep, very comfortable. The bed was soft, despite being a hospital bed. She didn't want to move from her spot, so she just stayed there and thought. She thought about what her life would be like now that she was human and didn't have to fear Aizen anymore.

Would Ichigo really help her, or was he just saying that so she'd let her guard down? She wanted to believe that he was sincere, but her brain kept telling her it was a trap. So she was stuck with a decision, go with her gut and believe Kurosaki, or go with her brain and run away right now?

When she worded it like that, it was clear what to do. Grimmjow always went with her gut and it got her here, but was that a bad thing? She'd prefer it here to Las Noches any day, because those stories she told Ichigo were true. She clearly remembered the last time she was sent to the dark cells. It was right after Tousen cut her arm off and they nearly killed her that night, and she almost wanted to die. She was sure they weren't coming for her that time, because she didn't have an arm and was useless to Aizen without it.

Surely enough though, the next day came around and she was pulled from the horrible cell and taken to the medical wing, bleeding like a stuck pig. She shuddered at the memory, disturbing her comfortable position. She honestly hoped that Aizen was going through the same hell that she was put through right now.

The thought made her smile for a long tie, until she heard the door to her room open and she turned to face, Ichigo. He had a plate of a few different human foods on it and she raised an eyebrow to him.

"I figured you were probably hungry, so I had Yuzu make extra eggs this morning. Try them, there really good. I swear, my little sister is the best cook in the world." He said, a friendly smile on his face that seemed genuine enough. Grimmjow took the food and inspected it carefully, and Ichigo just stood there and watched her.

After a long moment, she picked up the fork and started eating.

_I could get used to this._ She thought as she ate the delicious eggs hungrily.

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter was annoying XD I wrote it once, and it was longer, but I decided I didn't like it that much and re wrote it. I like this one better, so please enjoy =]

And don't forget to hit that review button and tell me what you think about it! Love it? Hate it? Tell me!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Chapter 3! -drumroll-

So maybe it's not that big a deal, but yay anyway. Thanks again for all the reviews =D They really motivate me to write more. The more motivation, the more chappies, savvy? So hit that button, and a chapter will come much quicker! =P

* * *

**Chapter 3**

"But why?" Grimmjow complained. Again. Ichigo thought it would be a good Idea to see Urahara as soon as she woke up, but Grimmjow didn't want to go at all, though he still didn't know why she didn't want to. So, instead of giving up and just going like a normal person, Grimmjow decided to make it just as painful for him as it was for her. So now they were walking down the street to Urahara's, Grimmjow a few steps behind in his cloths still.

Not that she was in pain anymore, her wounds healed about three days after she woke up, but she spent most of her time sleeping and resting after that. Ichigo figured the best way to deal with her when she was like this was to ignore her, but it was driving him insane.

"Did you hear me, Kurosaki? Why do we have to go to this Shinigami?" She complained again. Ichigo thought about the way she worded that for a moment and thought he figured out why she didn't want to go. Was she afraid of meeting Urahara because he was a Shinigami? He wasn't sure, but he knew Grimmjow would never admit it if that was the case.

"We have to go, because he's a friend, and he can get you used to the human world and help hide you from Soul Society." Ichigo said, trying to put her at ease without admitting he thought she was scared. There was a slight hesitation before he next question.

"How do you know he'll even want to help me? He is a Shinigami, and I'm his enemy. He'll probably just send me to Soul Society!" She said, keeping the fear out of her voice as best she could. She did a really good job at that, Ichigo thought. He was beginning to wonder if she was really scared, or if she really thought that. Or both. Ichigo stopped walking and faced her, looking into her eyes he could tell it was the latter.

That's the thing about Grimmjow that Ichigo noticed really quickly. She could lie real well, but her eyes always told what she was feeling. It was weird, to be honest.

"Don't worry about that, I can't even count the amount of times Urahara's saved me. He's the most trustworthy guy I know... Don't tell him I said that though." Ichigo said, trying to ease her feelings without hurting.

"I'm not worried about it," She said defiantly, "I just don't want to go through the trouble of getting away from him, is all. My stab wound's still a bit sore."

Her eyes told Ichigo the his words eased her, but only a little bit. There wasn't much else he could do to calm her down, so he just nodded and started walking again, Grimmjow following closely. He wished she would just calm down, but right now she was fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket, zipping it and unzipping it back and forth. He wanted to tell her to knock it off, but it seemed to calm her so he tolerated it.

"Are we there yet?" She asked, like a child. Ichigo swore that vein in his head just popped as he looked back to Grimmjow.

"Are you serious right now? You're acting like a fucking child!" He yelled at her and, much to his dismay, she cracked a smile at his reaction.

"Said the guy that just yelled at the top of his lungs in public." She shot back with a large grin. Ichigo looked around him, noticing that everyone was staring at him like he was crazy. He looked away in embarrassment, causing Grimmjow to laugh at him, loudly. He just kept walking forward, hoping Grimmjow would catch up.

She did, and he glance back at her. She was still chuckling to herself, but at least she wasn't scared anymore. They weren't too far from the shop when Grimmjow just stopped completely. Ichigo turned to face her, completely annoyed by now.

"What the hell? I get that you don't want to-" He was about to keep going, but she held out a finger and hushed him. He looked at her, confused.

"Did you hear that?" She asked.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Grimmjow asked, listening carefully. Then it happened again, only louder, and she recognized the sound instantly. It was a hollow!She looked over to Ichigo, and he was looking at her like she was crazy. More hollows started screeching, and she could barely hear what he was saying.

"What are you talking about? I don't hear anything." He said, looking at her with the same stupid expression, "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you were hurt more than we thought."

"I'm fine, damn it! You're the one who isn't alright! You seriously don't hear that? It's so loud!" Grimmjow shouted, trying to be louder than the hollows. Other people passing by started looking at her the same way Ichigo was, but that didn't surprise her. Normal humans couldn't hear hollows.

"I really don't hear anything. What's it sound like? Voices?" Ichigo asked, and Grimmjow sent him a glare.

"Sounds like a few dozen hollows heading our way, dumbass!" She yelled back and Ichigos expression turned to one of panic.

"Are you sure?" He asked, and she still didn't see why he was so worried. He could take care of a few measly hollows couldn't he?

"Yeah, I know what a fucking hollow sounds like! You seriously don't hear that? What the hell is wrong with you? Why don't ya just go Shinigami, play hero, and kill the damn things?" She asked loudly, still struggling over the sound of the hollows.

"I can't. We need to get to Urahara, and fast!" He said, taking off down the road they'd been walking for the past few minutes. Grimmjow didn't take any time to thing before taking off behind him. She was confused as to why he couldn't deal with them but decided against pushing it and ran.

"They're getting closer, Ichigo!" Grimmjow shouted to the teen in front of her. He didn't look back as he responded.

"We're almost there, don't worry!" He shouted back and Grimmjow let out a string of curses as she picked up her pace. They both heard explosions and yells coming from behind and they knew the hollows were close. Ichigo suddenly turned a corner and Grimmjow tried to imitate the action, but her foot slipped off of the curb and she fell to the pavement, hard.

She pushed off of the ground, getting herself back to her feet. Ichigo obviously hadn't noticed she fell because he was further down the street. She was about to run after him, when a large clawed hand swatted her to the side, across the street. It didn't scratch her too deep, but it didn't change the fact that she was sent soaring down the road, in the opposite direction of Ichigo, who was still running.

She came to a skidding, painful stop, and looked up towards the direction that she came from. The hollow that hit her was already making it's way toward her again, a sick grin on it's face that reminded Grimmjow that she used to be like that.

"You look really tasty, for a human!" The monster said in a deep, evil voice. Grimmjow pushed herself off of the ground, her left side was bleeding and she was sure she broke some more ribs, but she didn't pay it anymore attention as she backed away from the approaching creature. She knew it was too close to escape from, so she braced herself for when it came again.

It didn't take long for that to happen. The hollow threw itself at her with inhuman speed, its hungry mouth was open and ready to rip Grimmjow in half. She couldn't dodge the attack and prepared to be eaten, when a green light shot out from behind her and destroyed the hollow.

_A... Cero?_ Grimmjow thought to herself in disbelief as the monster disappeared. Behind it, more hollows screamed in agony as they too, were struck down by the vicious cero.

"Trash must have followed me here." A calm voice said from behind Grimmjow. She knew that voice anywhere.

"U-Ulquiorra?" She stammered out, not believing her eyes as she turned around to face her former rival. He turned his apathetic gaze to her and stared for a moment.

"Grimmjow. You are to come back to Hueco Mundo. Aizen is no more, so there is nothing stopping you." Ulquiorra said, in the same monotone that he always used.

"What the fuck? Can't you tell that I'm a human now? I'd be useless in Hueco Mundo." Grimmjow shouted out at the former Fourth Espada, still shocked at him even being there. She was still shocked that he wasn't dead, much less standing right there.

"I can see that for myself. Still, I am here to bring you back. With Aizen gone, I have taken over the throng as the king. You are to come back to Hueco Mundo." He said, an edge making it's way into his voice.

"Fuck that, I'd get eaten alive over there dumbass! I'm a human! I'm weak! Why do you even want me?" Grimmjow questioned him further, anger dripping from her tone as she glared at Ulquiorra.

"You would not be harmed, because I would not allow it. I am bringing you back to be my queen. Is that not what you always wanted?" He took a step towards Grimmjow and she took a step back. This was too much to process. Why did Ulquiorra want _her_ of all people to be his queen? She hated him and he hated her, right?

"N-Not anymore. It's different now, damn it! Why the hell do you want me there anyway?" She demanded and a flash of annoyance went across his face and in an instant he was in front of her, and his hand was around her neck, squeezing the air out.

"I just told you why, did I not? You are to be my queen. I do not care about your wishes anymore. It's time to leave." He said calmly, tightening his grip on her neck. Grimmjows vision began to blur and she felt herself blacking out.

"Sing, Benihime." A voice said before Grimmjow passed out and the hand around her neck let go, and she fell to the floor, gasping for air. She looked up to see Ulquiorra, sword drawn, fending off a powerful red blast. Ulquiorra was blown back a lot and a rare look of annoyance was on his face again and he looked at Grimmjow again.

"I will see you again." He said before opening a garganta back to Hueco Mundo and stepping through. Grimmjow just stared as he disappeared. She had her own hand around the spot where his was, knowing it would bruise, even if she was still in her Espada form it would've bruised. Ulquiorra was dangerously strong when he wanted to be.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and it helped her get up. It hurt to stand, considering that a hollow and an Espada had just attacked her. She looked up to see Ichigo was holding her up, concern was all over his face, along with another emotion that Grimmjow didn't recognize. When she thought about it, a foreign feeling was brewing in the pit of her stomach as well.

"Are you okay?" He asked and Grimmjow just nodded and added a little grunt, staring into his eyes. He stared back for a moment, and he gave a smile to her and the feeling in her stomach brewed up again and she felt like she was about to blush.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_ Grimmjow thought to herself.

"I'm sorry, I should have noticed that you fell behind. This is my fault." Ichigo said, releasing Grimmjow and letting her stand on her own. She was a bit disappointed but didn't know why.

"Shut up. I fell because I'm stupid. It's my fault." Grimmjow said, and before Ichigo could respond, another person appeared next to Grimmjow. She jumped back at his sudden appearance and the newcomer just smiled back. He looked strange. He was dressed in a strange outfit with a checked hat.

"You must be Grimmjow," he started in a cheerful voice, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Urahara Kisuke. I own a candy shop down the street."

Grimmjow looked at the man like he was crazy. How much weirder could this day get? First Ulquiorra, then this freak?

* * *

Ichigo and Urahara took Grimmjow back to the candy shop. Tessai started healing her in another room right away, but Ichigo couldn't get her off his mind. It was mainly the weird feeling that he had last when he looked into her eyes. He had no idea what it was, but he was sure that he didn't hate it.

He tried to figure out what it was for the next ten minutes, but he couldn't and Grimmjow walked into the room right in front of Tessai and Urahara. Urahara gave a friendly smile, but Ichigo hardly noticed because he was staring at Grimmjow. The feeling didn't come back.

"Your friend here was just explaining her situation to us." Urahara interrupted Ichigo's thoughts and he looked to the shopkeeper.

"And?" He asked, knowing the shopkeeper probably already had a plan in his head.

"I think we can help, but first, I think we should find out what her visitor wanted." Urahara said and Grimmjows head snapped up.

"That was Ulquiorra." She stated the obvious. "He wanted me to come back to Hueco Mundo."

Everyone in the room was quiet after hearing that. They all looked at Grimmjow, wondering why Ulquiorra would want her back, considering that she was a human. She didn't say anything so Ichigo decided to ask.

"Why would he want you back?" He questioned.

"He wants me there because, with Aizen gone, apparently he's the king. He wants me to be his queen." She said, sounding disgusted and angry. A silence fell again and Ichigo broke it again.

"I thought you hated each other." Ichigo stated. He was disappointed that Ulquiorra wanted her back, just as he was getting used to having her around. He wasn't even sure that she didn't want to go back either.

"Not really. When I first became the Sexta, we had a thing for a little while, but I got bored and told him to fuck off. I guess he never got over it." She said, not making eye contact with anyone.

"Do you want to go back with him?"

"Fuck no."

**A/N:** What a twist! Ulquiorra's not dead? Of course not! I couldn't kill him off, he's too cool. Tell me what you thought about this chapter, I love reviews, and they save baby kittens! (Not Really)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you everyone for the great reviews! So no one saw Ulquiorra coming? Good, I like to surprise people. There's a few more coming too, so be ready =P

I don't own Bleach, because if I did, Grimmjow wouldn't be off sleeping in the sand somewhere XD

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Urahara decided that it would be best if Grimmjow enrolled in high school, to help her adjust, but he was also worried that Ulquiorra would attack again, so he also gave her a device that would send out a distress signal if she pushed a button.

Grimmjow didn't like that her only way of defending herself was by asking the Shinigami for help, but she knew there wasn't much choice so she took the device with a scowl. The shopkeeper was actually really smart, she discovered as he explained the device to her.

"So, if you see anything suspicious, you push this button and it shoots out a wave of spiritual pressure and the nearest ally will come to help you. It's very simple. And it can even clip onto your clothes!" Urahara explained. He was very excited about it. Grimmjow just nodded in response, she was beyond agitated at everything that was going on. She was pissed that she was human, she was mad that she had to rely on Shinigami, and most of all, she was upset that Ichigo Kurosaki, her former rival, had to watch over her.

Sure, they weren't enemies now, hell she'd even go as far as saying they don't hate each other anymore. Which is saying something. However, whenever he was around her, that strange feeling kept coming back and it was annoying her more than anything.

"Alright, that's all I need to say about it. I'll try to make some improvements on it while you're gone! If I could do that in a few hours, imagine what I could do with the idea in a few days!" The shopkeeper rambled on about new ideas for the device, but Grimmjow didn't pay it any attention as she looked to the door.

"If that's it then, I'll get going. I, uh, appreciate the help. If there's anything I can do to make it up..." Grimmjow felt really awkward as she tried to thank the shopkeeper.

"Well, now that you mention it, there's always a ton of work to be done around the shop, so if you really want to pay us back, you could come over every once in a while and help out!" Urahara said with a devious smile. Grimmjow felt like she was going to regret offering her help.

"Whatever." She said, brushing them off. The shopkeeper took it as a yes and flipped his fan over his face to cover his smile.

"Then I'll see you soon, Grimmjow-kun!" He said in a cheerful voice and Grimmjow just grunted as she left the shop to meet up with Ichigo, who was waiting out front. Her mood was even worse, knowing that she would have to work for that damn shopkeeper.

Ichigo, on the other hand, didn't seem like he was having a bad day at all. That actually seemed to make Grimmjow a little less mad. A little.

The next morning was supposed to be Grimmjow's first day at school. Ichigo could tell that she was a little excited to see what it was like, even though she tried to hide it.

"So, what's school like?" Grimmjow asked again as they made their way into the house. She seemed pissed when she left Urahara's, so Ichigo thought it'd be a good idea to get her mind off of everything and mentioned school. So, for the past half hour, while they headed back home, that was all Grimmjow was talking about.

"It's a bunch of kids, sitting in a room, listening to a boring teacher lecture." He said. She cocked her head to the right a little and started thinking. She was thinking for a few moments with the same expression, and if he was honest with himself, Ichigo thought Grimmjow actually looked kind of cute like that. The thought left his mind as quickly as it came.

"Sounds weird. What's the teacher like?" Grimmjow asked. Ichigo briefly wondered what she pictured school as before answering.

"Not so bad. She's nice sometimes, but she yells a lot so you should be careful about that. She'll probably cut you some slack since you're new though." He answered. She went back to thinking as they came into the living room of the house. It was another few moments before Grimmjow spoke again.

"How many kids are there?" She asked.

"I dunno, 20 or so." Ichigo responded and she was about to go back to thinking again when Isshin jumped in front of them, a wide smile on his face.

"My children! I'm glad to see you're both all right! I heard there was a gas explosion not to far from Urahara's place! I thought it might have been a hollow going after you two, but you're both fine so I guess it wasn't, then?" Ichigo's father asked, concern flashing in his eyes.

"Actually, it was a hollow. It was after Grimmjow, but Urahara saved her." Ichigo said and Isshin's face filled with relief. He lunged at Grimmjow and hugged her, much to her surprise. He stood there, hugging a wide eyed Grimmjow and crying.

"I'm so happy that my children are safe! Don't worry Grimmjow, no hollow will get you as long as me and Urahara are here." He said reassuringly. His dad could still become a Shinigami, so he actually could protect her. Unlike Ichigo, who knew that he was useless to his friends as he is now.

"I-I can't breath." Grimmjow stammered out and Isshin let her go and muttered a quick apology.

"Did Urahara give you anything that would protect you from more hollow attacks?" Isshin asked. Ichigo was also curious, but he knew he gave her something as she was leaving.

"He gave me this," Grimmjow held up a device that looked a little like a pager, "He said if I hit this button, it will send out spiritual energy and someone can come to me."

Isshin nodded, understanding that if he ever felt that energy, he would go to it immediately. Grimmjow still looked really confused at the reaction, but Ichigo's dad didn't seem to notice.

"That's good. At least this way, you can stay safe." Isshin said before turning around and heading off to do some work with a new patient.

Ichigo headed up to his room and Grimmjow followed for lack of better thing to do. When they got there Grimmjow looked at Ichigo curiously.

"Why's your dad like that with me? I've only said like two words to him." She asked with an innocently confused face that didn't fit her at all.

"That's just how he is, ever since my mom died." Ichigo replied, and Grimmjow nodded but didn't ask anymore.

"Well," Ichigo started after a long pause, "I think we should start getting ready for bed. I think dad's new patient took your room so I'll get the spare mattress and bring it in here so you can sleep on the floor."

Grimmjow nodded and it didn't take long to get the room all set up. Ichigo gave Grimmjow some sleep pants that were way to big for her, but they were better than the jeans she was wearing before. When they were both laying in their respective beds, Ichigo noticed that Grimmjow fell asleep almost immediately. She curled herself into a ball and hugged a pillow, like when she was sleeping in the other room.

Ichigo tried to fall asleep too, but he kept getting distracted by Grimmjow. She made soft noises in her sleep, they weren't loud enough to bug most people, but Ichigo couldn't help but focus on them. Her soft breaths made him glance over at her to make sure she wasn't awake, and every time she shifted in her sleep, even a little, he ripped his eyes away from her so she wouldn't catch him staring.

* * *

Grimmjow woke up to a horrible noise. It was a consistent '_beep! beep! beep!'_ and it annoyed her to no end, but eventually she gave up on trying to sleep through it and sat up in her mattress, searching for the source of the offending noise. She traced it back to the clock on Ichigos nightstand and nearly lunged at it, but a hand shot out and hit the top of it before she could. The beeping stopped and Grimmjow looked over to see that Ichigo had shut it off.

"What the hell is that stupid thing? It woke me up!" She demanded from Ichigo, he laughed a little before answering.

"It's an alarm clock, it's supposed to wake you up so we can get ready for school." He explained. Grimmjow scowled at the device.

"I don't like it." Grimmjow pouted, glaring at the alarm clock the whole time.

"Neither do I, but we gotta get ready for school now." Ichigo stated and then he got off the bed and started gathering clothes.

Luckily, Ichigo found Matsumoto's old school uniform from when she was stationed here and Grimmjow wore that. It was a little big in the bust, but other than that it fit her great. So they headed off to school not long after.

Grimmjow was a bit nervous, if she was honest with herself, she really didn't know what to expect seeing as she'd never been to a school. Plus, the way Ichigo described it, there was going to be a lot of people there and she remembered when she was in the big city when she first woke up. Humans are aggressive in packs.

"Grimmjow," Ichigo interrupted her thoughts, "I want to talk to you about something. At my school, there's a lot of people who are going to recognize you. Orihime, Uryu, Chad. They'll all know who you are when they see you and I honestly have no idea how they'll react, but I want you to promise me that you won't do anything stupid to them. They're my friends, and if they got hurt, I wouldn't be able to forgive you."

Ichigo looked back at Grimmjow as they walked. She stared at him, confused. If his friends were there, especially the woman, they'd definitely not be happy about seeing her.

"Alright... I'll try." Grimmjow replied, unsure of what else to say.

"Also, it goes beyond just them. You can't go around beating up people you don't like. There's a lot of rules at school and if you get into fights, then you'll get in trouble." Ichigo went on, and Grimmjow nodded.

As they came closer to the school, Grimmjow felt herself getting even more nervous, knowing that she couldn't fight there either. Just how different is this place from Hueco Mundo?

* * *

**A/N: **Total filler chapter XD

Sorry. I couldn't come up with much else to spice it up. I had trouble writing this one. That doesn't mean it's not important to the story though.

Next chapter is a day at school! I already know what I'm going to do for it and it will be better than this chap lol

Please review, I love reviews!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I'm really happy to see a lot more reviewers! =D And I guess you're all pretty excited for Grimmkitty's first day of school, by the sounds of it lol. I hope you aren't disappointed with it. BTW, if you haven't noticed yet, line breaks are generally POV changes. I'm thinking about making this story first person, any thoughts?

I own nothing.

**Chapter 5**

Grimmjow walked closely behind Ichigo. After he warned her about school, he was really quiet, and a knot started to form in her stomach, and it grew with every step. Her image of what school was like was getting less pleasant with every step.

Was it like a meeting with Aizen? Was it worse than that? If it was, then Grimmjow knew she didn't want to be late to it. She was late to several of Aizen's meetings and the punishment for that was enough to give her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Which is another thing Grimmjow noticed since turning into a human. The nightmares stopped. It might have been because she just wasn't in Las Noches anymore,or that Aizen was locked up, but she didn't miss the nightmares at all. She liked getting a nice nights sleep.

As her mind started to drift away from the impending thought of school, she noticed that it was just at the end of the road. The knot in her stomach grew, but she made sure not to let any of her uneasiness show on her face. She put on the apathetic mask that she wore to Aizen's meetings as well. Like she didn't even care that she was walking into her possible doom.

Ichigo glanced back at her as they neared the school. Grimmjow looked right through him and at the school, trying to appear casual. He didn't seem fooled. In fact, he seemed a little worried, she thought.

"It's not that bad. School, that is. Just really boring. And don't worry about my friends, they shouldn't bug you too much if I tell them you're okay." He said back to her. Grimmjow let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in before giving Ichigo a cocky smirk.

"Course it ain't that bad. I'm not worried about it." She lied with a wide smile. Ichigo let out a laugh as he rolled his eyes. "And I'm definitely not worried about your friends. I've seen them fight remember?"

Ichigo shook his head again and continued walking ahead. When they got to the gates, Ichigo stepped in first. Grimmjow was about to follow when she heard a high-pitched screech that hurt Grimmjow's ears.

"Kurosaki-kun!" The annoying voice said in a quieter tone. Grimmjow quickly remembered who's voice it was.

"Hey, Orihime." Ichigo said back in a cool tone that sounded like he was trying to say, _'My worst enemy? Standing right behind me? Nah!'_.

Grimmjow bit back a slight chuckle at the thought, and waited for the big boobed ginger to notice her. Said ginger ran up to Ichigo and stood six inches from his face. Grimmjow bit back a snort, could she be any more obvious? She was totally in love with Ichigo.

As soon as that thought entered her head, Grimmjow felt another knot in her stomach. Was she seriously jealous of this bimbo?

"Gr-Grimmjow!" The annoying woman squealed. Then she took a fighting stance and gave Grimmjow her hardest glare, that couldn't scare a kitten. Grimmjow wanted to laugh at the girl, thinking that she could take her out? Even if Grimmjow was human now, she was once an Espada!

"Long time no see." Grimmjow said back, without bothering to take a defensive stance. Ichigo immediately stepped in front of her, separating the two women.

"Orihime, we need to talk." Ichigo said, his tone was dead serious and Orihime looked at him, confused with wide eyes.

Ichigo explained the situation to her, and she immediately jumped onto Ichigo's side as if she didn't have a mind of her own. Grimmjow wanted to laugh at the girl. She followed Ichigo blindly and did whatever made him happy, but at the same time fell in love with Ulquiorra in Hueco Mundo.

"We should get inside then. I don't want to get there late and make a scene in the middle of class, so we'll go early to explain things to the others." Ichigo sounded apprehensive about going into class, and it started to get to Grimmjow, too.

After a few minutes of walking, Ichigo and Orihime stopped in front of a door and Grimmjow did the same. Ichigo looked back at her again, a reassuring smile of his face that made her feel better.

He pushed open the door and walked in, Orihime followed. Grimmjow took a quick breath before following after them.

* * *

Ichigo was even surprised at the amount of glares that Grimmjow got the second she stepped in the room. She didn't seem fazed by them though, in fact, she was sending back death glares that were even scarier than any glare Ishida or Chad could pull off. It was actually pretty funny, but Ichigo didn't dare laugh.

Chad and Ishida both made their way over to Grimmjow, Ichigo could see Ishida's cross clutched in his hand, and Chad was standing defensively, as if he was going to summon his arm and block an attack at any moment.

"Everyone... This, is Grimmjow." Ichigo said, breaking the tension that had formed. He explained the situation to them, and Grimmjow shifted awkwardly as he did. He felt bad for her, even though she had a tough face on, he knew she was nervous as a real human on their first day of school.

"I don't think this is a good idea, Kurosaki," Ishida said as Ichigo finished explaining, "I think we should just give her to Soul Society and let them deal with her. I don't trust her kind."

Ichigo really wanted to hit Ishida at that moment. He could see Grimmjow tense up, ready to bolt at any time.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, so keep it to yourself," Ichigo spat in a cold tone and everyone stared at him, even Grimmjow, "We all know what Soul Society does to prisoners. They'd kill her, and she's just a human now so she's harmless. If she causes trouble, we can deal with it ourselves."

Grimmjow seemed to relax, but still stared at Ichigo in confusion. He looked back and gave her a slight nod and she returned the gesture slowly, still thinking.

"We'll talk more after class." Ichigo said led Grimmjow over to a seat in the corner and then sat in the one in front of it. Orihime looked like she wanted to sit with Ichigo, but she decided not to and sat with Ishida and Chad instead.

"They don't seem to like me very much." Grimmjow said a little lightheartedly.

"They'll get used to it." Ichigo replied with a smile.

The bell rang and class started, but even as the teacher started lecturing, no one paid attention. Ichigo was talking to Grimmjow the whole class. She told stories of Aizen and stories of Gin. They weren't particularly bad stories, most were just her making fun of Aizen's obsession with Tea and Gin's stupid pranks, but some were a bit darker. She told how sometimes, Aizen wouldn't feed her if she 'misbehaved', or even cut her with his Zanpakuto.

"The bastard deserves to be in Soul Society's jail." Ichigo said after a darker story. Grimmjow just nodded and gave a slight grin. Ichigo was really getting used to her being there. He was really happy they managed to find common ground and weren't arguing like he was expecting.

He felt the same feeling for her again, and he was thinking that it could have been love. Was he falling in love with Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?

* * *

The bell rang again and everyone got up and ran out of the room, with the exception of Ichigo, Grimmjow, Chad, Orihime, and Ishida. Grimmjow was in a better mood. School wasn't bad at all. In fact, she kind of enjoyed it. It was weird talking to Ichigo for so long, it felt like they'd been best friends forever and they had a lot in common. They found the same things funny, and the same things pissed him off that pissed her off.

The whole time, she had the same feeling in her stomach that kept annoying her every time she was with him. She had an idea of what it was but refused to believe it. There was no way she could _love_ anyone. Especially him... right?

"Grimmjow, can I talk to you real quick?" The annoying ginger asked in her high pitched voice. Everyone, including Grimmjow, stared at her in shock. What could she possibly want to talk to her about?

"Okay..." Grimmjow replied hesitantly. Orihime grabbed Grimmjow by the arm and dragged her away from the rest of the group. Away from Ichigo, Grimmjow noted with a scowl.

"I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about... Ulquiorra?" Orihime shyly blushed as she asked her question and Grimmjow burst out laughing. Orihime didn't do anything in response to the laughter, just waited for it to stop as she blushed.

"You don't want anything to do with that nut-" Grimmjow was saying with a smile, but she was interrupted by a large explosion right next to the pair.

The blast sent both girls soaring away from it, landing a few meters away.

"So you're the one that Ulquiorra-sama wants so bad, eh? I was hoping this would be a challenge." A deep voice sounded from Grimmjows left. She looked to see a large Arrancar with a huge smile on his face.

"You're awfully pretty for a human. I see why Ulquiorra-sama wants you."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry it's so short, I've been very busy this week. I had a funeral to go to, so I was pretty busy. I'll make it up to you next update with a big one xD

And Ulquiorra makes his move so soon? And Ichigo loves Grimmjow?

P.S: Lotsa Orihime bashing in this chap lol. I don't like her very much =P

Also, I'm thinking about making the rest of the story first person, thoughts?

Please remember to review and whatnot, they make me happy =]


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Let me start by saying, I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry for crazy long wait on this chapter, especially because I left you with a cliffhanger like that. I know it. You can hate me. I didn't mean to, though! My computer broke and my dad wouldn't get me a new one because he was determined that someone could fix it for a cheaper price, even though we went to a computer repair store and they said it would be cheaper to buy a new one, then when I finally got a new one with my own money, I had to rewrite the chapter, because I'm not smart enough to get an external hard drive T.T

Aaaaanyway, I'm really glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter, even though it was sooo short. I really hate that I kept you waiting on this cliffhanger for so long, though... I'll try to make it up to you! Maybe a double update, if I can. If I do it'll probably be the week after next week, unfortunately, because I'm going to Vegas from the 3rd to the 12th. But I'll get it in! I wanna make it up to you... really .

Sooo, anyway, enough with my lame excuses and on to the story. I own nothing, except the idea.

**Chapter 6**

Grimmjow glared at the Arrancar intensely, and the large male let out a loud laugh before disappearing. Grimmjow could track him with her eyes, they were still well trained from her Espada days, but her body couldn't keep up. He smashed his body into hers, slamming Grimmjow back even further.

She could hear the others, Ichigo and his friends, yelling and making their way over, but Grimmjow wasn't planning on counting on them in a fight against an Espada. She stood, clutching her aching stomach as she searched for the device that Urahara gave her. It was clipped on her waist before she was hit, but it wasn't there anymore and she scanned over the ground in desperation.

"Looking for this?" Grimmjow's eyes shot up and she found herself face to face with a different Espada. It was a tall girl, at least a foot taller than Grimmjow herself. She was pale and had long, red hair, and her hollow mask was a pair of horns on her head. She was holding the device that Urahara gave Grimmjow.

"That? I have no idea what that is." Grimmjow lied, a wicked grin creeping across her face as a fight was about to start. Then, remembering that she had no powers, it slowly faded and she settled for glaring at the Arrancar.

"Oh, well that's just to bad then, I thought I'd just foiled your plans. Not that it would have worked anyway. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Yuki Takyanagi, the Seventh Espada!" The girl boasted loudly.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Sixth Espada." Grimmjow said back, her voice deadly quiet as she tried to think of a plan.

The Espada laughed before charging at Grimmjow again, but this time she didn't use soindo. Grimmjow could easily track the other girls moves, and dodged and jumped accordingly.

"Not bad, for a human!" Grimmjow let out a smirk at the compliment, even though she knew the Espada was trying to tease her. Grimmjow had no illusions, she didn't think she could outmatch this Espada by herself, but she knew that if she got her hands on that button, Kisuke or Isshin would show up and these Arrancar would be done for.

So, she kept dodging, waiting for the Espada to let her guard down, when a loud crash was heard from where the other Espada was standing. The Seventh Espada glanced over, surprised, and Grimmjow pounced at the Espada's hand. The Espada knew immediately what was happening and gripped the device with all her might, but Grimmjow was relentless, pulling as hard as her frail human body would let her until finally, she pried the device away.

Grimmjow fell back on her butt from the sudden release, but she mashed the button as she fell. The effects were immediately noticeable. A large, dense reiatsu poured out of it in one huge burst, making Grimmjow, the two Espada, and every other spiritually aware human around them snap their attention to the device with their breaths stuck in their lungs. To Grimmjow, it felt as if someone had put her hundreds of feet underwater for a few seconds, then, just as quickly pulled her back up, leaving her gasping for air and clutching at her throat. She was glad she still had her large spiritual pressure to protect her a little, but the weak body was failing her for sure.

It seemed to have a similar effect on the Espada, but not for as long as it effected Grimmjow. When the Seventh Espada seemed to realize what Grimmjow had done, she glared at the human with all her her might.

It less than in instant, the Espada had Grimmjow in the air with an iron grip on her throat, effectively cutting off Grimmjow's air supply.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that one, bitch! I don't care what Ulquiorra says, you're dead!" The Espada shouted into Grimmjow's face, tightening her grip around Grimmjow's neck even more. Grimmjow tried not to make a whimper of pain, to no avail, and the Espada burst into maniacal laughter.

"Aw, is the little bitch gonna cry?" The Espada said between laughs. Grimmjow gritted her teeth, feeling darkness begin to wash over her from lack of oxygen. Before she could pass out though, the Espada sent a bone shattering punch straight into Grimmjow's stomach and sending her soaring across the field.

The Espada charged at her once more, but before the hit could land, she was matched with another huge hit. The two fists collided and a huge reiatsu exploded out of the point of impact, almost sending Grimmjow flying again.

_Was Kisuke that fast?_ Grimmjow though as the dust began to settle back into place. When it fell, however, Grimmjow was shocked to see, not Kisuke, but one of Ichigos friend standing in front of her. It was the huge guy, and his fist looked almost hollow as he matched the Espada in pure strength.

"I don't know why," The big guy spoke up for the first time, "but you seem to be important to Ichigo. So I won't let anything happen to you."

Grimmjow wasn't sure what to say, but even if she did know what to say, she wouldn't have been able to. As soon as she opened her mouth, blood poured out. It was then that Grimmjow actually noticed the blinding pain in her stomach, right where the Espada punched her. She bit back a scream of agony and clutched the wounded area as the Espada and the big guy fought right in front of her.

When she felt her hand on her stomach start to get warm and wet, Grimmjow knew that was a bad sign. The Espada must have used her hierro to literally punch into Grimmjow, drawing blood and damaging her organs, not unlike Grimmjow once did to the short Shinigami so long ago. She could feel herself begin to fall asleep as she watched the fight, not sure if she'd wake up again.

* * *

One second, everything was pretty normal, save for Orihime wanting to speak to Grimmjow alone. The next second, hell broke loose as a huge crash was heard from where Grimmjow and Orihime went just a moment ago.

Panic overtook Ichigo, and he began to charge around the corner, worried about his best friend and his possible love, but a strong hand stopped him. Ichigo looked up, pissed off, at Chad, who looked down on him with a clenched jaw and hard stare.

"Espada." His friend said softly. Ichigo, however, didn't give a _damn_ if it was Hitlers army around that corner. His was going to protect his friends, whether they wanted him too or not.

"Alright. Step aside then Chad. They need to be saved." Ichigo kept his calm, but there was definitely a fierce edge to his voice that let anyone who heard it know he wasn't going to back down. Chad seemed to realize this, but Uryu was clearly not smart enough to figure it out, or he didn't care, because he put his hand on Ichigos chest, as Chad took it off.

"And who's gonna do it? _You? _You're no Shinigami anymore. Stay here. We'll handle it. You'll just be in the way!" If Ichigo ever wanted to hit the Quincy, now was the time. So he did. Ichigo quickly brought his hand up and caught Uryu's hand by the wrist and punched him full force with the other. The smaller boy stumbled back in surprise and tripped, falling on his ass.

"Get the _fuck_ out of my way, Quincy, or you'll be sorry." Ichigo knew he'd have to apologize later, but right now, he had to save Grimmjow. As Ichigo went to charge again, he was stopped once more by Chad.

"I'll handle the Espada. You get the girls out." Chad said before letting go of Ichigo. But as they both ran around the corner, they were stopped by an overwhelming spiritual pressure exploding for the scene of the fight. Ichigo even felt it, despite not having any spiritual pressure of his own. It pinned both him and Chad to the ground.

Desperate to see what happened, Ichigo forced his near paralyzed body to look up at what was going on. He saw Grimmjow fall to her knees, gasping for air and clutching her throat in pain. It pissed him off even more. Just as she seemed to recover, though, her hands went right back to her throat and she was lifted into the air, probably by her neck, but Ichigo wasn't able to see what was holding her up.

He cursed aloud, so fed up with the situation and his own uselessness. He could hear her make a small whimper of pain that she tried to hold in and he felt a blinding, primal, rage urging him to get up and protect that girl, but his body wouldn't comply. Then, Grimmjow was sent soaring back, her whole body seemed to fold in half at the hit that seemed to be to her stomach, and he saw blood beginning to form. His rage only increased more and more as the scene continued.

When Grimmjow looked toward the direction she came from and her eyes widened a fraction in fear, he couldn't take it anymore. He pushed off the ground and forced his body to comply, painfully and begrudgingly. It felt like the first time he met Rukia and he broke out of her binding spell, only at least ten times worse.

As Grimmjow flinched from an attack that Ichigo was sure would have ended her, another large explosion happened. Not as big as the last, but Ichigo felt it and he saw the dirt jump off the ground. Had Kisuke made it already?

As the dust lowered Ichigo was proven wrong. Chad was up and his arm was hollow, and he was punching a tall redhead with horns on her head.

"Wait. Is that the Espada?" Ichigo asked himself. How the hell was he able to see it? He could never see them before! Not after his fight with Aizen at least.

He was about to think more when he heard another whimper of pain come from Grimmjow that snapped him out of his astonishment. He ran at her and slid to his knees next to her. She looked as if she was about to pass out from either pain or blood loss. Whichever it was, Ichigo was still pissed off.

"I-Ichigo?" She asked weakly and un-Grimmjow like, squinting her eyes before breaking off into a coughing fit until she fell asleep. He quickly checked her pulse, to make sure she was really just sleeping.

He felt _nothing_. There was no faint thump every minute. There was _nothing_. Ichigo was panicking even more, and he was, for the first time in his life that he could remember, _scared_. He set her to the ground and applied as much pressure as possible to the wound. He lightly shook her shoulder, praying to whatever god there was that she could wake up, but nothing worked. Nothing fucking worked.

By now, Ichigo's original panic passed and all he was left with was a blinding rage and he really wanted to vent it on something. He looked over to where the Espada was battling Chad, but there wasn't much of a fight going on anymore. There were two Espada. One huge guy and the red head that Ichigo hated with all his heart. Chad was barely standing. Ichigo was so pissed off he couldn't even think properly.

He felt a light tap on his shoulder and spun to face whoever it was, thinking his prayers were answered, but when he turned, he saw orange hair, and not the blue hair he was hoping so much to see. She spoke, but he was too far gone to hear her.

He scanned everything around him, searching for something that might be able to help. Orihime was crying by now, and yelling, but he just pointed to the blue haired woman on the ground and she understood. She immediately dropped to her knees and started her healing process as Ichigo charged toward the precious object he saw laying in his backpack for the first time in a long time.

It was his Shinigami Badge.

He snatched it and slammed it on his stomach, but nothing happened.

"Shit! They must have deactivated it somehow!" He couldn't think in his head anymore. He'd lost his mind to rage. He emptied his backpack quickly, searching for something else that could help him get out of his body. He couldn't feel Kisuke or his dad's pressure anywhere near. Did they not feel the spiritual wave?

Something caught his eye as Ichigo looked through his backpack. An uncharacteristic and sadistic smile crept across his features as he held the tiny pill up.

He threw the thing in the air and caught it in his mouth.

In the next second, dark and dangerous reiatsu exploded from where Ichigo was standing. Everyone's attention was stolen away from the fight as Ichigo's spiritual pressure, bigger than ever before, drowned everybody for a moment.

They all stared in astonishment as the black flaring reiatsu slowly began to calm and reveal Ichigo, the same way he was when he fought Aizen, with a vicious and pissed off grin on his face. If the hollow mask scared Orihime, she was petrified by the new sadistic looking Ichigo that stood tall and glared at the Espada.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh my... That was exciting. I wasn't sure whether or not to give Ichigo his powers back, but I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out =]

You'll all hate me for this cliffhanger again, but I'll try to update before Sunday, but if I don't I won't be able to until the 12th =[

I'll really try though.

Please leave a review about how this chapter made you feel? How I make you feel? o.o

Tell me the answer to life, for all I care xD I love reviews =P


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Alright, so yet another late(ish) update. Not too bad though. Sorry still. I had it done and everything, and I told it to post on the 13th, but FF had other plans. Took me till now to realize it didn't actually go up . So my fault again this time, sorry guys .

Good news though, Next chaps done and I'll put it up soon! =D

Anyway, enough with my babbling. On to ze story!

I own nothing, because if I did, we'd already have Grimmjow back -angrily kicks rock- .

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Ichigo couldn't keep the smile off his face as his vision focused on nothing but the Espada that hurt Grimmjow. The woman was shocked at first, but she quickly regained the usual Espada cockiness that they all seemed to have until they were slashed down.

So, she had that cockiness for at least another five minutes, Ichigo thought as he gripped the familiar weight of Zangetsu as hard as he could. He charged at the Espada in a burst of shunpo, and she reacted with her own soindo. Ichigo could tell he was no where near as fast as when he fought Aizen, but he was sure he could handle himself.

"Don't think you can win just because you're a Shinigami now! I'm an Espada! I eat Shinigami for breakfast!" The girl snarled as she went straight for Ichigo. Her form was flawed, unlike the former Espada, who were killing machines compared to this. Ichigo sidestepped his way out of a vertical strike from the Espada and slashed horizontally. The Arrancars eyes widened for a fraction of a second before the blade smashed against her skin and sent her skidding back yards away, kicking up dirt that blocked her from his view.

Ichigo was about to move on to the next Espada, considering the girl as dealt with, but he was distracted by a loud, sadistic and amused laugh from where the girl had landed.

"You're not bad, Shinigami, but you're a fool if you think that's enough to beat _me_!" The Espada yelled viciously at Ichigo. It was his turn to be shocked as she jumped out of the dust and revealed herself to be unscathed by the attack and much faster than before.

Ichigo pulled Zangetsu up to block the still sloppy attack, but the second her blade met his, he was launched back by the sheer force of the attack.

_Something's wrong, _Ichigo thought as he pushed against the ground to stop himself, _The attacks are sloppy and untrained, but that speed and power are crazy! Something's weird._

If Ichigo had anymore to add to that thought, it was muted by the next attack from the Espada bursting through the smoke. He ducked this time, not wanting to block anymore of those powerful strikes. He'd had enough fooling around. His sword glowed blue as he stabbed at the open stomach of the Espada.

"Getsuga!" He yelled as he plunged the sword with as much force as he could manage into the Espada's stomach. She was sent flying back again, only this time further. She landed back in the area where the fight began, clutching her now bleeding stomach. The attack at least drew blood this time, Ichigo thought with a smirk.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!" The Espada shouted, but her charge was cut off by a powerful red blast hitting her from behind.

"Well, well, well... Isn't this interesting?" A familiar voice said from behind the Espada. Everyone's attention was brought to the shopkeeper with the hat, descending slowly to the ground.

"Who the hell're you?" The angry female shouted after the attack on her settled. She was bleeding deeply from her back, and some blood was dripping out of her mouth as she spoke.

"That's strange. I didn't hold back. You're a tough one aren't you? Oh well, I guess it's time for introductions! I'm a friendly candy store owner! I heard a commotion and thought I should check it out! I'm glad I did too," Kisuke turned his attention to Ichigo, "because I'm seeing something very interesting. You aren't supposed to have any powers, are you?"

"I don't know how it happened. You handle this, Kisuke." Ichigo said in a serious tone and the shopkeeper knew something was wrong. Ichigo shunpo'd to where Orihime was still trying to heal Grimmjow, who was still in the same spot as before.

Panic overtook his features as he looked down at the bloodstained bluenette laying in the dirt. Kisuke saw where Ichigo went and a rare flash of anger went across his face as well.

* * *

Kisuke looked away from Ichigo. Rarely ever did he get angry, but seeing the look on the boys face as he stared down at the still form of Grimmjow triggered a rage that very few saw in him and no one ever lived to share it. He himself had taken a liking to the girl, in a father-like way, even though he hadn't known her long.

"I must ask, Espada. Did you hurt that girl?" His voice came out cold and quiet.

"That bitch? Yeah, that was me. What are ya gonna do about it?" The Espada seemed like she wanted to say more, but her opportunity was stolen as Kisuke appeared in front of her, faster than she could see or react to. He could tell by the way she moved earlier that she was faster than any other Espada he'd seen, but she made no move to defend herself from his next attack.

"Sing, Benihime." He whispered as he launched a close ranged blast at her. The attack would've been more than enough to kill the Arrancar, but at the last second, she was pulled out of harms way by a large male Espada.

"Sorry to interrupt your fight, Shinigami, but this one is far out of your league. I'll be your opponent. My name is Akira Takyanagi, Fourth Espada. This is my sister." The Espada spoke loudly and threateningly.

"Very well. If you are my opponent, then I must warn you. I'm in a bit of a sour mood, and I'm not going to hold back." Kisuke said, raising his hat just enough to show his eyes.

"I would hope not. Otherwise I might kill you on accident!" The Espada shouted as he threw his sister to the ground next to him. He seemed to injure her, because she stayed down.

Kisuke wasted no time in accepting the new enemies offer and flashed behind him. Kisuke was impressed with the fact that the enemy could see him move, but the block was pitiful. Kisuke stabbed right into the guard of the cocky Espada and blood splattered out of the Espada's shoulder.

As the Espada howled in pain, Kisuke curiously eyed his own Zanpakuto. The wound, though painful for the Espada, was not as deep as it should have been.

"What did the new king do to increase your power, Arrancar?" Kisuke asked as he figured it out in his head. That was his only explanation. If this Espada was actually weak, but received a boost in power somehow, it would explain the lack of battle knowledge and incredible strength.

"Aren't you a smart one? I'm not gonna tell you. Maybe next time. We have to go and explain why our target's dead to Ulquiorra-sama. Catch ya later, Shinigami!" The Espada disappeared with the wounded girl in soindo, but Kisuke made no move to follow. They'd pretty much answered his question anyway.

He turned his attention back to the group around Grimmjow as the Espada escaped through a garganta.

* * *

Ichigo kept staring at Grimmjows body, expecting it to just get up and move again. Orihime was clearly on her last wind with her healing, and was going to have to stop soon. Grimmjow still looked the same. Dead.

His initial anger had gone away, and now he just felt powerless, even though he knew he had his powers back. Orihime's healing shield fell and she fell to her knees, panting. She went to start again, but a firm hand was placed on her shoulder. Ichigo barely noticed that it was Chad standing behind her.

Orihime looked up at Ichigo and he glanced at her. Her eyes were wide and watery, apologies written all over her face, but Ichigo knew it wasn't a real apology. She didn't even know Grimmjow. In fact, she hated Grimmjow because all she knew her as was an enemy. Not like an actual human being. Not the way _he_ knew her.

He broke away from Orihime's pleading stare. She wanted him to say something, but he didn't. He walked over to Grimmjow's bloodied body and laid his hand on her face, staring into her lifeless eyes. He felt like he was gonna cry to be honest, and that was weird because he didn't cry much.

Tears began to fall down his face, but that was all he showed of his sorrow. He just stared, like he was in a trance.

"What the fuck...?" He heard a voice. _Her_ voice! He turned to the source and his eyes widened in surprise at what he saw.

* * *

**A/N:** Like I said before, the next chapters already almost done so it should be up real soon! (Today or Tomorrow, depending on my laziness xD) So look forward to getting this new cliffhanger all cleared up. I do a lot of those don't I? Next one will be longer too. Couldn't resist the cliffhanger =P

Huh...

Oh well. As always, REVIEW! Every review will make me take 13 minutes out of my day to dance with glee. Dead serious. My dad thinks I'm nuts. He's probably right. XD


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Yo. I own Nothing. -poke-

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Ichigo looked to the source of the voice in shock. At first he looked at the body in front of him, but it didn't come from there. He snapped around and caught sight of a streak of blue. He focused in and saw Grimmjow, same clothes and same everything standing there, looking _really _confused. Except she wasn't the same.

There was a chain in her stomach. Ichigos eyes widened in horror as he realized what this meant. She was dead. Again.

She walked closer and he stayed still, never breaking eye contact. She stopped about a foot away from him.

"You got your powers back." She said, not moving at all.

"You aren't dead... Sort of." He said back and she smiled a little and looked away for a quick second.

"Guess not." She said back awkwardly. Ichigo wasn't quiet sure what to do. He actually wanted to kiss her, but he wasn't sure how she would react, so he hesitated.

"Grimmjow!" Someone yelled from afar. It sounded like Orihime. Grimmjow looked over to the source, and the moment passed much to Ichigos disappointment. He could have sworn he saw some disappointment on her face too before she looked away, but that was probably wishful thinking. He looked over too and saw Orihime, Chad, and Kisuke running over.

Kisuke took Grimmjow by surprise when he attacked her with a flying hug.

"You're okay!~" He said in his usual singsong voice, "we were so worried!"

It didn't take long for Kisuke to notice the chain in Grimmjows stomach.

"Oh," He said solemnly and let her go, "That could be a problem... but I'm sure I can think of a way to fix it."

With that, both Grimmjow and Ichigo let out a relieved sigh. If it was Kisuke, they were sure he could find a solution. Until then however, Grimmjow would just have to stay like that, Ichigo guessed. He was just happy she wasn't gone.

* * *

Grimmjow woke up dazed in confused.

_This is getting old real fast... Where the hell am I?_ She thought to herself, remembering waking up in the alley after she died.

She looked around not seeing much. She noticed the chain in her chest almost immediately. _So I did die... again._

She heard a noise from not to far away and headed over to check it out. She saw Ichigo, in full Shinigami garb, touching her dead bodies face. It almost looked like he was crying too.

"What the fuck...?" She spoke softly, but he seemed to hear and looked shocked. First, he thought it was the body, but then realized it was Grimmjow standing, staring at him confused. As he noticed the chain, she started walking toward him and stopped about a foot away. He didn't say anything so she figured she'd break the ice.

"You got your powers back." She observed. It was obvious, but she felt like she had to say something to break the intense stare.

"You aren't dead... Sort of." He said back and she let out a little smile. He'd said it like it was no big deal that she was slowly turning back into a hollow. When she looked back into his eyes, she decided that she wanted him to kiss her. Really badly, too, but she knew he wouldn't. There was no way he had the same feeling as her.

"Guess not." She said awkwardly after a silence.

"Grimmjow!" She heard yelled in surprise and disappointment filled her face for a quick moment as she knew the chance for the kiss passed. She looked over to see Big Tits, Muscle Guy, and Shopkeeper walking toward her with smiles.

* * *

"So, what are we going to do about her... situation?" Isshin, who'd been filled in on all the details of what happened, asked. Grimmjow turned her attention to the shopkeeper as well. He was the smartest man she knew, except maybe Aizen, but he was gone. After they found out about the situation, they went to Uraharas candy shop. Now they were discussing options.

"Well, I have a few ideas," The Shopkeeper started slowly, "but I can't be sure. When her soul was an Arrancar, she had a part of Shinigami added to her soul by the Hogyoku by Aizen. When she was killed, the hollow side died, but maybe the Shinigami part is still there, waiting to be awakened. If it is, then we could get you into a Gigai and you could continue what you've been doing."

The shopkeeper sounded like he was getting progressively more sure of his option, but Grimmjow wasn't so sure. She really had to put a lot of trust into this guy. Not to mention if it worked she'd owe him big time.

"So, we can put her through the same training we put Ichigo through when he got his powers awakened. Grimmjow, it's quite dangerous. If it doesn't work, you'll become a hollow and, sadly, we'll have to purify you. If it works, you'll turn into a Shinigami. Do you accept?" The shopkeeper explained and every ones attention went to Grimmjow, who was sitting at the small table in the back room of the candy shop. She scuffed quietly, obviously not enjoying the attention.

"Do I really have a choice? If this guy could do it, then I can do it better." She said, her old pride sneaking into her voice as she gave a cocky smile at Ichigo, who was in the corner of the room.

"I was hoping you'd say that, Grimmjow. Lets go downstairs and get started then?" Kisuke said with the slightest hint of a smirk

He went down a tiny shaft and everyone followed, Grimmjow right behind. Underneath the store, there was a huge space. Grimmjow looked around with a pout on her face, not excited about the training at all.

"Ohhhhh myyy! Who would've thought this huuuuge space was right under the store?" Urahara shouted in an exasperated tone.

"If that surprised act is for me, you can drop it." Grimmjow said flatly. She heard a snickering from behind her and looked back, glaring at the little red head kid, who was laughing. He blushed under her glare.

"You know, you and carrot top are a lot alike." He said, cutting off the laughing.

"Whatever." Grimmjow said back, turning to Urahara.

"Test number one, Grimmjow. You must fight with Ururu here." He pointed to the little girl that had apparently been there the whole time. Grimmjow hadn't noticed her.

"Wait," Grimmjow pointed to the kid a raised an eyebrow, "you want me to fight _her_? Isn't that like, child abuse or something?"

"Ichigo said the same thing before he fought her and she whipped him. Like shes gonna do to you." The little red head kid said before bursting out into laughter.

"Can I fight this one instead?" Grimmjow asked in a threatening tone and pointed to Jinta.

"Maybe later. For now, little Ururu will have to do. I warn you though Grimmjow, don't underestimate her. You might have already noticed it's harder to move around in a spirit body after being in a human one." Kisuke added with a devious smile. Grimmjow was still unimpressed as she walked a few feet away from the group and faced the little girl.

"You comin' or not? Don't worry, I won't hurt ya too bad!" Grimmjow said, the beginnings of her classic sadistic smile creeping onto her features. She caught a quick glimpse of Ichigo laughing and furrowed her eyebrows. If he couldn't beat her, Grimmjow would try even harder to prove them wrong. The kid stepped forward and threw some pads at Grimmjow.

"Put those on, please. Otherwise you might die." The kid said quietly and Grimmjow stood there for a second, stunned. It was actually unnerving to have a little girl tell you that, but Grimmjow would never admit that to anyone.

Grimmjow was about to burst out laughing when all of the sudden, the kid was right in from of her, swinging her fist back for a powerful attack. Grimmjow was caught off guard, but she managed to bring her arms up to block the hit.

Not that that made much a difference. The hit still sent her flying across the room. She could vaguely hear laughing and got pissed off.

When the dust settled, Grimmjow was sprinting at the kid, ignoring the burn in her lungs from all the moving in her spirit body. The kid was running at her too, and they both drew back their fists, a full blown sadistic smile marring Grimmjows face as she barely dodged the kids hit and caught her in the stomach with her own punch.

The kids eyes widened a fraction as she felt Grimmjows fist sending her back. She flew all the way back to where they started, but looked uninjured. She looked up at Grimmjow, her eyes were strange and glassed over.

"Enemy. Beginning elimination process." The gitl said in a monotone and Grimmjow raised an eyebrow.

"The fuck are you babbling about, squirt? I hit a screw loose or something?" Grimmjow said in a cocky tone, but as the sentence finished, she saw Ururu take off at a speed much faster than she should have been able to manage, dragging her leg back for a kick that would almost certainly kill Grimmjow if it hit her mark.

Grimmjow's eyes widened as she moved as fast as she could, making the kick miss her face by less than an inch. There was a follow up attack right after, a punch aimed at Grimmjows face but she managed to barely duck it again. The kid was about to do another deadly attack, but a large hand caught her foot, much to Grimmjows surprise.

"Lesson one, complete. I must say, you did a good job, Grimmjow. Better than someone I know here. Not saying names, of course." The shopkeeper said, hiding a smile behind his fan as he pointed to a scowling Ichigo. Said Ichigo just glared off at nothing as Grimmjow let out a victorious laugh.

"Glad to see you're having fun. Time for lesson two. Are you ready Grimmjow?" Kisuke asked, his voice quiet and Grimmjow knew this was the real test. If she failed... She pushed the thought away. She wouldn't fail.

"Of course I'm ready." Grimmjow scuffed before spitting to the side in a very unladylike manor.

Ichigo looked on to Grimmjow. He was a bit worried. He knew that the next test was the most dangerous, and if she failed... He pushed the thought away. This was Grimmjow he was talking about. She wasn't going down that easy.

So he looked at her determined face and for a moment she looked back. He gave a reassuring nod and her smile grew a fraction.

* * *

The look on her face when the ground disappeared was priceless. She looked terrified, almost like a falling cat, flailing in an attempt to land on her feet, but as she fell, bindings pulled her arms behind her back. Somehow, she managed to land on her feet, though how was beyond Ichigo. He watched her as she stood.

Almost right away, the chain in her stomach morphed and started devouring itself at an alarming rate. Kisuke himself looked surprised at this.

"What the fuck, why's it going so fast? I mean, I know it's supposed to get faster down there, but this is a lot faster than it was for me!" Ichigo was freaking out. Something was wrong. Something that surprised Kisuke.

"I'm not sure," Kisuke started slowly with the slightest hint of worry, thinking hard, "her hollow side must be stronger because she was an Arrancar. We can't pull her out now. We just have to have faith in her."

His voice was filled with regret and guilt. He knew he pushed her into this.

"What do you mean we can't get her out?" Isshin, who'd been quiet until now, spoke up again.

"The process started. It wouldn't help if we got her out." Kisukes voice was quiet as he watching Grimmjow's chain quickly eat itself.

"How long do you think she's got?" Ichigo demanded.

"By the looks of it... maybe an hour." Kisuke said, barely audible and voice shaky.

* * *

Grimmjow was in pain. The chain in her stomach thrashed some more, causing her to flinch. _What the fuck am I supposed to do?_

Her eyes darted left and right, looking for a hint, but the tug of her stomach scramble her thoughts again. The chain was literally eating itself and it hurt like hell. She struggled to even think, much less function and find a way out.

_How did Ichigo do this?_ She asked herself as the pain got more unbearable. She could feel herself beginning to pass out from just pain. The chain was almost a fourth of the way gone, and it couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes. Grimmjow was on the verge of tears from this torture. Aizen had some dastardly forms of torture, but your own soul eating itself took the cake pain wise.

_'Just a matter of time!'_ A voice in the back of Grimmjows mind yelled at her.

"What the fuck?" Grimmjow spoke softly, looking around the cave to find the source of the voice, but everything went black before she could see anyone. She passed out.

* * *

_She woke in a desert, there was sand everywhere. No one was around but her. She looked around, searching for anything. She was beginning to get scared, which was a word Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez rarely ever used to describe herself. Her slight fear slowly turned into anger as she began searching the desert. It was just like Hueco Mundo._

"_Look who's finally back. I've been waiting a long time to see you again, Grimmjow." A voice said from behind her. She knew that voice._

"_Pantera." She said as she turned around to face the cat. Its features were the same. White bone and sharp teeth and claws. Like nothing changed._

"_You said you were going to be Queen, but look at you know. Dying in a hole in some guy's basement. You've really let yourself go." The panther spoke in a condescending tone. Grimmjow growled at the beast._

"_That's because I died, you arrogant son of a bitch. Don't you forget who's in charge here." She spat at the animal. She was NOT about to take any shit from him._

"_Who's in charge then, Grimmjow? You? Look around! You have nothing! I'm going to take over soon, and we'll become the Queen we were meant to be!" Pantera was pissed, as usual, but this time was different. It had a point._

"_I won't let you," Grimmjow said, her voice cold and quiet, "It doesn't matter how wounded I am. You'll never be as bad as me, cat. Get over yourself."_

_That was all the invitation Pantera needed. It pounced on Grimmjow, using soindo to get behind her and land a vicious scratch on her back._

* * *

Ichigo peered down the hole. Grimmjow passed out and things weren't looking good when all of the sudden, her body jolted upright and blood shot out of her back. Ichigo was sorely tempted to jump in and see what was wrong, but Kisuke put up a kido to prevent anything from getting in... or out.

"What's going on down there? She's bleeding!" Ichigo asked Kisuke.

"I imagine she's fighting something. I don't know what though." Kisuke sounded nothing like he usually did and Ichigo began to feel bad for the shopkeeper. He was beating himself up really bad over this.

"Come on Grimmjow, you can do it!" Ichigo shouted down the hole.

* * *

_Grimmjow was struggling to keep up with the cats movements. It was faster than her by far. She could barely dodge the attacks, much less counter them. So she was doomed to defense. At least for the foreseeable future._

"Come on Grimmjow, you can do it!"

_Ichigos voice invaded her battle and Pantera looked up for a split second to check out the noise. Grimmjow capitalized on the distraction and tackled the cat. She may have been slow, but her punches still were powerful._

_Pantera learned this the hard way as she started wailing on the cat, not letting it move an inch for fear of it taking off again and gaining the advantage._

_Grimmjow let down a brutal stomp on the panthers head and it whined in pain._

"_Like I said, did you forget who's in charge here, you pathetic cat? I don't need a Zanpakuto to take care of you." Grimmjow spat at the cats body, but it growled and darted at her once more. Grimmjows eyes widened in surprise as the half dead panther slashed its unforgiving claws across her face._

_She unknowingly let out a howl of pain as the cat laughed and spat blood at her._

"_This isn't over until one of us is dead." The panther said in a quiet, deadly tone._

_It jumped at Grimmjow again and took her to the ground, and started clawing and scratching while Grimmjow struggled to defend herself. It went for a fatal shot to her face, but Grimmjow managed to dodge. It left the cat open and she rolled it over, wrapping her arms around its neck and getting behind it, strangling the life from the animal._

_It didn't take long for the panther to stop struggling and slowly disappear in Grimmjows arms. It was over._

_She let out an exasperated sigh and rolled onto her back, but she no longer felt sand under her. She jumped up in surprise as she felt a wet substance splash over her. She was confused when she looked down to see herself standing in waist deep water that was totally clear._

"_Hello, Grimmjow. I've been waiting a very long time to talk to you." A voice, high pitched and feminine said from behind Grimmjow._

_She turned to see another panther, but this one was different. It was all black and had fur instead of bone._

"_Who the hell are you?" Grimmjow demanded._

"_I'm the real Pantera." It said._

* * *

Ichigo stared into the hole, squinting to get a better view. There wasn't much left of Grimmjows soul chain, but it stopped decaying for the first time since she was put down there. Nobody had said a word for the past hour, save for the occasional grunt of pain from the blue haired girl in the hole.

Everyone was even more quiet, if that was possible, since the chain stopped decaying. Ichigo wondered what exactly was going on down there, but he was almost certain his question would be answered soon enough.

As if on cue, Grimmjow's chain began to decay again and Kisuke looked up to Isshin. Isshin gave a firm but solemn nod and they both put their hands on their Zanpakuto, ready to attack.

The soul chain disappeared completely, and just as it did, an explosion of light blue light smashed through the kido locking Grimmjow in and a black blur jumped out, fast as lightning. It landed roughly not far from where they were and everyone surrounded the area immediately.

Ichigo couldn't see through the sand that was kicked up, but as it slowly settled down, he saw Grimmjow, wearing Shinigami robes, sprawled out on the dirt with a Zanpakuto in her hand that looked just like Pantera used to.

He smiled. _She did it._

* * *

**A/N:** There you have it. Super long chapter and short wait! =D

You can love me.

Though I'm not so sure how I feel about this chapter... meh. I'm not about to rewrite it. Tell me what you think about it!

Reviews make me smile.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Hello, I am xbloody-mangax's motivation for this story, and I wanted to let you all know that I've taken over! She is under my command! Homework can wait! Mwahahahaha!

And I own nothing but the idea and two cats.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Grimmjow struggled to push off the dirt floor. Her stamina was exhausted from both the fight with Pantera and the slow torture of her soul chain eating itself. She briefly wondered why she didn't feel it anymore, but she saw her sleeve and it matched a Shinigami's.

The surprise caused her to slip and hit the dirt again. She rolled onto her back and realized that her wounds were still there from her fight with Pantera.

"Grimmjow! You did it!" She heard Ichigo shout from behind her. She looked behind her and made eye contact with the boy before smiling. It was hard not to, since everyone else was.

"You doubted me? You do know who I am right? It'll take more than that to do me in." Grimmjow said with heavy cockiness. Ichigo just rolled his eyes and kept on smiling. Before anything else could be said, the huge guy, Tessai, appeared in front of Grimmjow.

She jumped slightly at his sudden appearance, but he didn't seem to notice as he started using some healing kido on her wounds. She didn't resist and enjoyed the feeling of her pain disappearing. Not long after the healing finished, Urahara walked over to her.

"Grimmjow, are you ready for lesson three?" He asked, a little awkward for some reason. Grimmjow raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Are you alright? You seem kinda off. If it's about lesson two, don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault," She spoke seriously and he nodded, regaining some swagger, "Well then lets get this show on the road. What's lesson three?"

"Well," Urahara said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Since you got lesson two down about 71 hours faster than my last contestant, I'm sure lesson three will be a cakewalk for you. All you have to do is hit my hat off of my head."

A sly smile cam across both Grimmjow and Urahara's face at the news.

"This lesson sounds fun." Grimmjow said quietly before disappearing in shunpo. Urahara's eyes widened a bit in surprise as she slashed at his face and took his hat off with the first try.

"Or not." Grimmjow said as the hat fell to the ground. She had a victorious grin over her face while everyone else stared with dropped jaws.

"It seems that your Shinigami side is quite powerful. Lesson three cleared." Urahara said simply.

* * *

"Well why can't I just stay with Ichigo then?" Grimmjow asked the shopkeeper.

"I have a room for you here, much comfier than Ichigo's spare mattress don't you think?" He made sense, but Grimmjow was reluctant to leave Ichigos house for reasons she wouldn't admit to anybody.

"I guess... but what about school? How will I get there?" She asked, still trying to poke holes in his logic, which was a hard thing to do when you're dealing with Kisuke Urahara. The man thinks everything through.

"The shop is on the way for Ichigo, he can pick you up in the mornings and drop you off after." The shopkeeper explained. He didn't inquire as to why Grimmjow wanted to stay at Ichigo's, but she had an idea that he already knew.

"Tch, fine. I'll stay here then." She pouted.

"Well that's great! We'll have a celebration for our new house guest tonight then! Everyone's invited!" He said loud enough for everyone to hear and Isshin and Ichigo came into the back room with confused looks.

"Ah, perfect," Kisuke started, looking at the two Kurosaki's while Grimmjow pouted behind him, "I was just telling Grimmjow here that I have a spare room she could use since your spare room is occupied by patients. Unless you have any complaints?"

Ichigo took a step forward and opened his mouth to argue, but Isshin put a had on his shoulder and Ichigo backed down with a pout matching Grimmjows.

"That sounds great, Kisuke. Thank you," Isshin said, Ichigo crossed his arms and looked away, "We should get going then. We'll see you later tonight for you celebration."

* * *

Ichigo was beyond annoyed. He knew in his head that it was the smart idea, but he didn't want Grimmjow to leave. So he was quiet as he walked home with his dad, something that rarely happened with him and his dad knew something was up.

"You like her don't you?" Isshin asked suddenly. Ichigo tensed up a bit, not expecting the question.

"Grimmjow? Yeah. She's a lot nicer than I used to think she was." He said, hoping his dad would accept it.

"Not what I meant," He didn't accept that answer, "You have feelings for her, don't you?"

Ichigo remained silent for a while, thinking about his answer.

"Would it be bad if I did?" He asked. His dad just laughed and shook his head.

"Not at all, son." Isshin said with a soft smile. "When are you gonna tell her?"

"I don't know. I don't think she feels the same way, and thing's will just be awkward..." Ichigo said quietly. Isshin stopped him and leaned against the wall of the building they were walking next to.

"Let me tell you something, son. When I met your mother, she was way out of my league. I knew I had feelings for her though. I was just like you are now, to be honest. Eventually, she was asked out by someone else and I lost my chance. I regretted not telling her about my feelings every single time I saw them together. Luckily I got another chance, and she told me that she wanted to hear me say that for a long time. Son, don't make the same mistake I did." Isshin started walking again, leaving Ichigo behind to think about what he said.

And think Ichigo did. He stayed there for at least half an hour before he finally came to a decision.

_I'm gonna tell her tonight._

* * *

Grimmjow was really annoyed. Almost immediately after Ichigo left, Kisuke gave her a list of "Things to do to pay back Mr. Urahara's generosity."

That's literally the title of the paper. Not to mention it was three pages. There was absolutely no fuckin way she was gonna do all this. Luckily for her though, she found a loophole. It took a while, but Grimmjow realized that the kid, Jinta, seemed to have a crush on her.

So, while Grimmjow lounged around playing some video game on the TV that she'd decided was actually fun, unlike the others, she'd convinced the kid to start the chores.

"Can I play with you?" A quiet voice came from Grimmjows left and she jumped. When she looked, the little girl was sitting next to her.

"Holy shit! When did you get there?" Grimmjow asked before laughing, not giving the girl a chance to answer. "Yeah sure. I'm not that good though, I play for the blood and gore."

The girl nodded and silently picked up the other controller.

_Maybe living here won't be so bad._ Grimmjow thought as Ururu beat her character without getting hit. Grimmjow had to admit, the end was her favorite part of the fights, where the winner did some grotesque attack on the enemy. In this case, Grimmjow's character got thrown in a pool of acid. Grimmjow chuckled as the poor sap tried to swim but his arms were melting away.

"I'm sorry." Ururu said and Grimmjow raised an eyebrow. "Jinta gets angry when I beat him, so I'm used to saying sorry after I lose."

"Oh really? How about next time he gets mad you give him a good hit to the jaw? That should calm him down." Grimmjow said, laughing and Ururu raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that mean?" She asked innocently.

"Damn straight it is, but so is getting mad over a video game." Grimmjow explained.

"Oh." was the quiet reply.

"Grimmjow!~ I got your Gigai ready!" Kisuke called from the back and Grimmjow got up, mumbling a 'later, squirt' to Ururu.

When she walked into the back room, Kisuke was standing next to a body that looked just like Grimmjow, only dressed different. It was wearing a black shirt with some bands name on it, a tight leather jacket and tight jeans that were dark blue. Grimmjow inspected it thoroughly before coming to the conclusion that it was _exactly_ like her. It gave her the creeps, but she wasn't about to ask Kisuke how he knew what she looked like everywhere.

"I didn't make it, if that's what you're thinking," He said, reading her mind, "All I did was give it the imprint of your soul and it made itself."

Grimmjow was relieved at the news.

"How the hell do I get in it?" She asked.

"Just touch it."

"Then how do I get out?"

"I'll explain that when you've gotten in."

Grimmjow sighed and stepped into the Gigai. It felt weird at first, but it wasn't too bad. She walked around a little bit before the doorbell rang.

"It seems our guests have arrived." Kisuke said with a smile.

* * *

**A/N:** Kinda short and fillery, but important none the less. Next chapter will be better, I promise =]

Review! Tell me what you thought!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** My motivation is still holding me hostage. He's mean. He doesn't know I'm typing this. Hi.

I own the idea.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

As Urahara went to get the door, Grimmjow closely followed, eager to greet them. She'd been fairly bored the last few hours. She threw her jacket into a closet as they walked by it, since they were inside. She didn't even know everyone who was coming, save for Ichigo and Isshin.

When they got to do door, Grimmjow was tapping her hand against her thigh to distract her for the few moments it took for Urahara to open the door. When he did, there was more people than Grimmjow expected.

There was Big Tits, Mexican Guy, weird looking skinny kid who uses the bow, Ichigo and his dad, then some other chick with dark hair who Grimmjow never met, or at least didn't remember. She's not so great with names... or faces.

Not long after the door was opened, everyone piled in. Some, not many, mumbled so greetings to Grimmjow, to which she replied with a short 'sup'. Something she picked up on TV not to long ago. She was proud to say she was getting used to human ways, even if they were retarded.

"Hey Grimmjow," Ichigo greeting as he came in last, "There's something I want to tell you-"

He started but he was cut off by Urahara silencing everyone with a loud whistle. Everyone looked at him.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to my humble candy store. I've called you all here today for a 'welcome home' party for a certain someone! I'll let her handle it from here!" He shouted and pulled Grimmjow up to the front, much to her surprise. Everyone stared at her, some stares holding malice, while others were more neutral.

"Uh... Sup." Grimmjow said awkwardly and then walked back to where Ichigo was. Everyone was silent for a few moments before laughter erupted, causing Grimmjow to glare at the shopkeeper and blush slightly.

Ichigo, who was laughing like everyone else, put a hand on her shoulder and it didn't take long for Grimmjow herself to start laughing a bit.

"Well everyone," Ichigo said for her, "This is Grimmjow. A woman of many words, as you can tell. Make her feel at home."

Ichigo kept it short, and the hateful stares seemed to die down a bit as everyone seemed to see Grimmjow as less of a threat. She'd assumed they'd all been told of her new situation when they were on their way here, and wasn't sure how they'd react to it.

* * *

It didn't take long for the party to get started, Ichigo noticed. He stayed with Grimmjow the whole time and kind of directed the conversations in a way. He'd be willing to bet that she'd made a few friends too. He was actually surprised at how well she got along with the others.

She was currently making plans with Tatsuki for a sparring match. The two became quick friends when they found out about each others fighting obsessions. Tatsuki didn't know _everything_ about Grimmjow actions during the war, so that might have helped their relationship.

Orihime was quick to start talking to Grimmjow after Tatsuki, seeing as she was best friends with Tatsuki too. Chad kept his pleasantness with Grimmjow after she thanked him for saving her. She promised to pay him back sometime. Uryu, however, was a different story. He was awful to Grimmjow all night. She almost hit him at one point, but Ichigo stopped her.

All in all, Grimmjow was getting accepted into their little clique, as strange as that sounds. Right now, the party was starting to die down, and people were gonna start leaving in a half hour or so. Ichigo still hadn't gotten a chance to tell Grimmjow yet.

He walked up behind her as her conversation started to end and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around and faced him as he stared into her eyes, which was slowly becoming his favorite feature on her. He liked the color of her eyes.

"You wanna get out of here?" He asked and she got confused.

"You want me to leave? Why?" She asked, her face cocked to the right and an eyebrow raised. He thought that face was cute as hell.

"No, no... Well, kind of. I want you to leave with me. I'll take you somewhere. Just us." He sounded more nervous than he thought he was. She was quiet for a minute and looked like she was thinking, but all Ichigo could think was how cute she looked.

"I'd like that." She answered after what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only a few seconds. Ichigo smiled at her.

"Great. Get your coat, I'll go tell dad and Kisuke." She nodded and disappeared in the crowd as Ichigo went to find his dad.

He saw him and Kisuke on the other end of the room engrossed in a conversation and made his way over, getting both of their attention.

"Hey. I wanted to tell you guys that me and Grimmjow are going to go out somewhere." He said and his dad gave him a reassuring nod while Kisuke eyed him intensely.

"Alright. Don't let anything happen to her, and you better have her back before midnight." The shopkeeper said in a stern voice that intimidated Ichigo slightly. He was a bit surprised by the shopkeepers rare blatant display of protectiveness, but smiled at him.

"Yes, sir." Ichigo said, the way a boyfriend would say to his girlfriends dad. Kisuke eyed him once more before nodding again and Ichigo took off, not looking for any reason to stay.

He made his way back to the door and saw Grimmjow standing there with her new leather coat on and picked up his pace a bit until he was right in front of her.

"Ready to go?" He asked, looking into her eyes again.

"Whenever you are, carrot top." She said with a slight grin and he smiled back. She was one of the few people who could call him that and get away with it, which was one of the things he liked most about her. He opened the door and motioned for her to go through first. He followed after.

* * *

Grimmjow was a tad bit nervous, but she made sure not to let any of it show as Ichigo followed her out of the shop. She knew he'd been trying to tell her something all night, but never got the chance much to her disappointment.

"So where are we going anyway?" She asked, turning back to look at him.

"I have an idea. You'll see. There's a lot of perks about the human world that you'll learn about soon enough. Follow me." He said and took Grimmjow's hand in his own. She smiled and blush a bit as he did, much to her own frustration. _There's gotta be something wrong with this Gigai. I never blush._

The thought was lost when Ichigo started walking again. She followed beside him, not letting him take the lead all the way, and she kept their hand's at her side, making their shoulders brush against each other every once in a while. He didn't seem to mind.

"Can't you just tell me where we're going? I don't like surprises, Ichigo." Grimmjow whined a bit, but Ichigo didn't slow down, instead just chuckled a bit.

"You'll like this one." He said.

Grimmjow was steadily growing more excited as he led her towards the outskirts of the city in a comfortable silence. He ended up taking her to the very edge of town and turn around and pointed to a large wall from a building on the edge.

When Grimmjow looked, she was actually really surprised to see that the wall was a lot of different colors somehow. There was pictures and designs and names were written every where.

"Whoa," Grimmjow said as she ran her eyes from corner to corner, reading all the names, "How did all these names get here?" She demanded to know, because her cat like curiosity took over by now.

"I'll show you." He said as he led her towards the wall. In the corner were two cans, one blue and one orange. Ichigo picked up the orange one and pointed it at the wall. He made his name appear on medium sized blank spot by pushing down the top. Grimmjow got close and saw that it was spraying something out of the can. Ichigo smirked at her before throwing the blue can at her.

"You try." He said and Grimmjows eyes widened.

"Are you sure? I've never done it before." She said quietly.

"Neither have I, I was waiting for someone to take here. It's easy, give it a go." He said with a smirk.

Grimmjow walked up to it with some confidence and wrote her name under the tiny '+' sign Ichigo made under his name. It looked a tad bit sloppy, but it wasn't the messiest one on there by far. She smirked at her handiwork as she read, 'Ichigo + Grimmjow' on the wall, in it's own little area.

"See? That wasn't too bad now, was it?" Ichigo said, slightly teasing her.

In retaliation, Grimmjow kicked him in the shin.

"Ow!" He said, even though she was sure it didn't hurt that bad, he rubbed his shin a second before taking her hand again.

"Come on, no time for screwing around. Kisuke put me on a tight schedule and there's one more place I want you to see." He said and led her again. She wondered briefly what he meant by Kisuke putting him on a schedule, but forgot about it as Ichigo led her out of the city. He took her to some long steep stairs that went up a huge hill, and led her to the very top. When they got there, he gestured to the city and she looked.

The whole city was visible from this high up. She saw every light and every car driving.

"Wow, this is what it all looks like. It's beautiful." Right after she said that she regretted it, because of how girly it sounded, but if she was honest, it was true. He sat down on the grassy hilltop and she sat next to him.

"I can think of something better." Ichigo said and Grimmjow looked at him. He stared into her questioning eyes silently. Grimmjow wondered what he was thinking.

Her question was answered as he moved in and captured his lips with hers. Grimmjow was surprised but kissed back right away, enjoying his taste.

_Tonight's a good night._

* * *

**A/N:** This is by far my favorite chapter so far. I'm happy with the way it turned out =3

I think I need to start staggering these chapters to give everyone a chance to read (and review =3) The others. Don't think just because this chap's up that I don't want reviews for the rest!

Anyway, review please. I love you all who review. Seriously. o.o


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** I only own the idea.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Grimmjow tasted surprisingly sweet. A little minty, too. It was hard to describe for Ichigo, but he knew that he liked it. After what felt like seconds but was probably minutes, they broke apart. Grimmjow had an adorable smile on and Ichigo looked about the same.

"I've been waiting a long time for you to do that." Grimmjow said, and Ichigo laughed a little.

"Did you ever think this would happen the first time you met me?" He asked, thinking about how absurd it would have been to think this was going to happen back then. Grimmjow laughed herself and scooted a little closer to Ichigo. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close enough so they were touching and Grimmjow put her head on his shoulder.

"I never thought I'd lose to you in a fight. I still think that was a fluke." Grimmjow said with a smile as she stared out at the city.

"Keep telling yourself that, Grimm, but I beat you fair and square." He said in a proud tone that Grimmjow chose to ignore. Ichigo rubbed his hand up and down her back and they stayed like that for a long time until Ichigo felt his shoulder get wet.

He looked over and saw Grimmjow fell asleep and was drooling on him. He let out a small laugh as he checked his watch.

"Shit!" He yelled loud enough to wake Grimmjow. She lifted her head up and looked around with adorable curiosity before she found the source of her disturbance and glared at the boy.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" She asked grumpily.

"It's 1:30 in the morning. Kisuke is gonna be _pissed_." He explained and Grimmjow nodded in understanding.

"Well, there's no use getting your panties in a bunch. Let's start heading back then." She said with a yawn. Ichigo signed and rolled his eyes at her apathy, mainly because he knew she was probably just as worried as him. She's good at hiding her feelings.

"Alright then." He said, standing up, then helping her up. They walked side-by-side down the steps, slightly apprehensive.

They walked the whole way side by side and holding hands until they got to the shop. When they got there, before Ichigo opened the door he spun Grimmjow around and kissed her again. He loved kissing her, he decided. They broke away early and she had a smile as they did.

"Wish me luck." He said as he opened the door and let her through first.

* * *

Ichigo opened the door for Grimmjow and she stepped through first. Inside the shop, Isshin and Kisuke were glaring at the door. They were in trouble.

"I thought I told you," Kisuke said as Ichigo walked in, "To have her back by _midnight_. Not Two AM."

Grimmjow stifled a laugh as Ichigo squirmed under Kisukes intense glare, but was quickly silenced when the glare was turned on her.

"We, uh, lost track of time..." Grimmjow stuttered out nervously and Kisuke seemed to relax a little.

"Alright, I can understand that, but make sure it doesn't happen again." Kisuke said firmly. Isshin nodded in agreement. Kisuke led the two boys out but motioned for Grimmjow to stay inside. Ichigo waved goodbye to Grimmjow, but she didn't know what that meant yet so she stared at him in response.

When they got outside, Kisuke turned to Ichigo with a rare serious face that was becoming more common of the older man.

"Don't hurt her." Was all Kisuke said, and all he needed to to terrify Ichigo, who nodded quickly. Kisukes face changed back to his usual smiles and he waved at them as they left.

"Great!~ Then feel free to stop by tomorrow, even though there's no school, I'm sure Grimmjow would love to see you!~" He shouted at them. Ichigo nodded back, not trusting his voice. That guy could be scary when he wanted to be.

"He didn't do anything to you? If he hurt you, you can tell me." Kisuke asked for the hundredth time. Grimmjow groaned as she made her way to her room.

"First off, Ichigo _couldn't_ hurt me, even if he wanted to, which he didn't. I would have kicked his ass. Now let me go to bed." She said, trying to keep quiet enough to not wake the kids.

"Did he kiss you?" Kisuke persisted. Grimmjow glared at him.

"None of your business, old man." She shot back and Kisuke preened to be hurt.

"That means he did, didn't he! Oh no, my baby girl is growing up so fast!" The shopkeeper kept saying and Grimmjow stared at him.

"What the hell are you babbling about? I'm no baby." Grimmjow said before closing the door to make sure no more questions popped up. She changed into a long Tee Shirt that Kisuke gave her and took her pants off. The shirt went down to just above her knees, and had some cartoon character on if, much to Grimmjows dismay. She groaned in annoyance as she made her way to her new bed and fell asleep right after she laid down.

* * *

Grimmjow was awoken earlier than she wanted by the sound of arguing in the main room. She got up to check it out, but didn't open the door.

"Kisuke! I don't have anywhere else to go! I'll do the damn chores, just let me stay here!" It was a guys voice, Grimmjow knew that by the sound, she heard Kisuke laugh a little.

"I can't do that, Renji. We already have a house guest and she was here first." Kisuke said and flipped his fan out.

"She? You find yourself a girlfriend, Kisuke? Can I meet her? I bet shes ugly!" Grimmjow shuddered at the thought of being Kisukes girlfriend then suppressed the urge to go out there and hit this guy for implying it, and calling her ugly.

"Wrong on both accounts. She's not _my_ girlfriend. Though I think Jinta might be trying to woo her." Kisuke said and Grimmjow fought the urge to laugh at the reference to the young boys crush.

"Jinta...? I don't get it, but it doesn't matter. Kisuke, lives are in danger here. Espada level reiatsu have been picked up around here by our sensors and they sent me to check it out. I can't do my job if I have nowhere to stay." Grimmjow tensed. It was a Shinigami! Did they know about her yet?

She decided that she had to get ready to run. She walked over to the drawer and grabbed the little pill Kisuke gave her to get out of the Gigai. She kept it in her hand as she made her way back to the door. Unfortunately, she'd left her shoes out the night before and forgot about them. She caught her foot on it and fell face first into the ground with a loud crash.

"Sounds like your 'house guest' is awake! I'll go ask her if she can find somewhere else to stay. Then everyone will be happy!" She heard from the other room and freaked out looking for the pill, that fell on the ground when she did, but it was on the other side of the room.

The door opened and in walked a guy who looked like a hippie. At first he looked all around the room before his eyes fell on Grimmjow. Grimmjow took a second to realize that he wasn't looking at her directly. She followed his eyes and realized what he was staring at.

Apparently, when Grimmjow fell, the Tee Shirt went up to her waist and he was staring straight at her light blue panties that she wore under the Tee Shirt, and he had a full view to. His nose started to bleed a little as Grimmjow pulled the shirt back down and glared at him.

"I-I'm Sorry, I didn't kno- wait! I know you! What the hell are YOU doing here?" The Shinigami yelled at her.

"Well, I was trying to get some sleep when some perverted hippie started yelling in the other room and I went to check it out, but he barged in my room hoping to see me naked." She shot back with sarcasm.

"I wasn't trying to- You know what, forget it. I want to know why there's an Espada in my room!" The Red-Head was loud, Grimmjow noticed quickly.

"Not your room." Grimmjow shot back as Kisuke walked in.

"Glad to see you two got to know each other. Renji, we should talk. I'll explain in the other room. Grimmjow, you can get dressed, Tatsuki was nice enough to bring some clothes over for you. I put them in the drawers for you." Kisuke said, his fan covering his mouth the whole time. Renji, the Shinigami, looked upset, and he didn't follow Kisuke out right away.

"What? You wanna watch me change too?" Grimmjow snapped at him and he quickly disappeared to wherever Kisuke went.

So Grimmjow took a shower (something they didn't have in Las Noches, so she wasn't quiet used to it) then changed into some clothes that Tatsuki apparently brought over, and when she was done she stepped out into the main room. The shirt was black with some strange blue design on it and the pants were tight jeans.

In the main room of the candy shop, Renji and Kisuke were standing there waiting for her. She stood in front of them with a scowl, waiting for someone to talk.

"You're right, Kisuke," Renji spoke with a bit of humor, "She is a lot like Kurosaki. I can see why they'd get along."

"Oh, stuff it Pineapple." Grimmjow shot back. Renji let out a loud laugh.

"Just proving my point. Here's the deal, I'm not gonna rat you out to Soul Society just yet, because Kisuke says you're not that bad, but I'm going to watch you, and if there's one slip up, I'll tell the head captain personally of your presence here. Also, you're gonna have to meet the other Shinigami here, and they'll decide what they want to do with you. We have a whole team here." He explained and Grimmjow scuffed a little. She didn't like her chances here, and really didn't like putting faith in Shinigami.

"Don't worry Grimmjow," Kisuke said, seemingly reading her mind, "I know all of the Shinigami on the team here, and Ichigo's good friends with all of them. I'm sure they'll give you a chance just like our pal Renji here."

"Tch, whatever." Grimmjow tried to act cool, but was failing miserably and Kisuke gave her a sympathetic look before they were interrupted by the doorbell.

"That's probably them. I told Ichigo to get them so they could meet you." Kisuke explained as he opened the door. He was right. Ichigo walked in first and immediately went to Grimmjows side, taking her hand in his and she felt a little less worried.

After him, walked in the short Shinigami that Grimmjow tried to kill.

"Shit." Grimmjow muttered under her breath when she saw her. Next was a short captain with white hair, and last was a blonde with tits that put Orihime to shame. They were all in a Gigai, thankfully, but they were all also glaring at the Espada.

"Grimmjow," Ichigo said, breaking the ice, "This is Rukia, Captain Hitsugaya, and Rangiku. Guys, this is Grimmjow."

* * *

**A/N:** Things are about to get awkward. XD

And Renji's a pervert =O

About staggering these, I'm pretty sure I'm going to start doing that. I lose a lot of reviews when I update so fast xD Sorry. I gotta give people a chance to read the chapters before I put another out.

Review for me?


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Hello all of my loyal minions and faces. Here reading yet another chapter of Fem!GrimmIchi awesomeness? I wish there were more Fem!Grimm stories. Hmmm. He makes an interesting girl xD

I'm super sorry about the wait… I've been getting a bunch of messages that guilted me into posting lol. The start might be a little dull, it was a little forced, but I got back into my muse shortly after.

**Chapter 12**

First word to describe the situation would be: awkward. There was a good five minutes of dead silence before the short captain spoke.

"No," He said flatly, "You should have told us about this the second it happened. Soul Society can handle the situation from here."

That was all Grimmjow needed to hear to make her wanna bolt, but Ichigo put a firm hand on her arm and held her in place. She sent him a glare and almost growled at him, and he looked at her with determination.

"Just wait a minute, Toshiro. I'll let you make your choice, but you have to hear her out first, alright?" Ichigo said almost threateningly. The captain looked mad at that and took a step forward.

"Did you forget who you're talking to, Substitute Shinigami? I'm a captain. You don't order me around. I'm leaving, Soul Societies going to hear about this." The White Haired captain said harshly and Ichigo tightened his grip on Grimmjows arm. The captain went to leave, but ran straight into Tessai.

"Sit down." Was all the big man said. It sounded threatening and the captain was taken off guard at first.

"Oh, Toshiro-Kun~~~" Kisuke finally spoke up, "Leaving already? Stay and drink some tea, I insist. And while you enjoy your tea, we can tell you about the situation with Grimmy-kun over there."

"Come on, captain. Let's just hear them out, what harm could it do?" The blonde Shinigami who was quiet until then spoke, her voice seeming less hostile than Grimmjow expected. Maybe she did stand a chance here?

"Fine." The Captain said, though he didn't sound pleased at all. Kisuke didn't seem to notice as he smiled widely and led them to the back. Little did Grimmjow know, they had the Captain won over the second the lieutenant asked to hear them out.

* * *

In the other room, Ichigo led Grimmjow to the sitting area and sat next to her, taking her hand in his under the table. As she sat down, Ichigo couldn't help but notice a death glare from Rukia to Grimmjow... _That can't be good..._

Thankfully, Grimmjow didn't seem to notice, because she would've made a scene and cast doubt on herself. He made a mental note to ask Rukia what her problem was later.

Kisuke started explaining Grimmjows story expertly, he was excellent at playing Rangiku's sympathetic side, which was good because she was the only one here who would be able to convince Captain Hitsugaya to let Grimmjow stay. If they convinced Rangiku, they pretty much had it in the bag.

Ichigo let Kisuke do the talking, and Grimmjow was paying complete attention, probably because she was afraid of the outcome... Not that he'd ever tell her he thought she was afraid. She'd probably kill him.

Ichigo also continued to notice Rukias glares and was getting annoyed with it. She was definitely mad, but he didn't know why. Was she really that upset about Grimmjow? It would make sense, considering Grimmjow tried to kill her before.

No, that wasn't it... It seemed like something more. Ichigo was never that good at reading her expressions, but it seemed like she was mad at something else. She made eye contact with him for a moment and immediately cowered away, looking everywhere but him or Grimmjow. _Somethings definitely up with her..._

Time must have been flying while Ichigo was thinking, because Kisuke had stopped talking and was looking at Hitsugaya and Rangiku, Rukia was in the background, and Ichigo had no idea what she was thinking. She'd been quiet the whole time.

"I think," Rangiku interrupted his thoughts and gained everyone's attention, "That we should give her a chance, Captain. Look at her! She's harmless! If she stirs up trouble, I'm sure we could handle it without Soul Society. What do you think, Captain?"

Hitsugaya sighed in annoyance and everybody's eyes were on him. Ichigo was a bit surprised that Grimmjow didn't say anything to the harmless comment, but he wasn't one to question miracles.

"Fine, but I want you to know Espada, if you step out of line even once, I won't hesitate to cut you down." The Captain spoke coldly and locked his eyes onto Grimmjow, who didn't seem threatened at all.

"Deal. You hold up your end, and I'll hold mine." Grimmjow replied just as coldly and the Captain nodded. Grimmjow wasn't a liar, anyone who'd known her could tell that easily. She had too much honor to lie.

* * *

Awkward moments passed between the group before the captain said something about having to find new sleeping arrangements for the lieutenant and being extremely busy with captain stuff and disappeared with the rest of the Shinigami. Grimmjow wouldn't say she missed them. Kisuke smiled and gave her a pat on the back before returning to the main room with Tessai, leaving Grimmjow and Ichigo alone.

"I told you it'd be fine, didn't I?" Ichigo said in an 'I told you so' voice before kissing Grimmjow on the lips. After they broke, both had a smile on their faces.

"I know what we can do now," Grimmjow said with a sadistic smile, and Ichigo raise an eyebrow, "I want my rematch."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo sounded confused.

"You said you'd fight me anytime, Kurosaki, or have you forgotten? Right now." Grimmjow sounded like a kid on Christmas and realization set in Ichigo's eyes.

"Right now? Are you sure that's a good idea?" He didn't want to fight her, she could tell. She didn't want a fight where he wouldn't try.

"It's a great idea. I saw how rusty you've gotten with your time off. You think you can kill any Espada with a rusty blade like that? I'd be surprised if you could even touch me." Grimmjow had intended to hit his pride, so he'd go all out in the fight.

"A rusty blade? You sound real cocky for someone who's already lost to me. I'll take you up on that offer, then, but don't cry when you lose." Ichigo went for her pride the same way she did, and it worked. She was annoyed immediately.

They headed down the ladder and into the basement, followed closely by Jinta and Uryu, who were bored enough to want to watch. The two stood across from each other, staring down their opponent.

"I don't think we should use our Zanpakuto for this, Grimmjow. Someone might get hurt." Ichigo said, and Grimmjow nodded as she swallowed the pill and ejected from her body. Ichigo did the same.

"Right, I wouldn't wanna cut you up too bad." Grimmjow said with a maniacal laugh. Ichigo didn't reply and instead shunpo'd as fast as he could towards Grimmjow, leg cocked back and ready to kick her full force.

Her cocky smile never left as she jumped in the air over Ichigo and grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him to the ground. She laughed sadisticly as she drew her own leg back to kick him, but Ichigo was fast enough to bring his arms to his chest and block the attack as best he could, which wasn't much when you took into account who was throwing the kick. He was sent skidding back and Grimmjow kept laughing, shoving her hands in her pockets and spitting to the side.

"If that's all ya got, Shinigami, this ain't gonna be much of a fight. Now that I'm warmed up, I'm goin' to start hitting you for _real_." Grimmjow was cocky as ever, and Ichigo almost felt like he was fighting the Sexta Espada again, but the atmosphere was way different around the two. It felt a bit more like a friendly competition than a real contest. He was sure Grimmjow didn't feel the same way, though. Something he'd picked up about her was that everything was a competition and that she hated losing more than anything.

"You've got some nerve calling me a shinigami, Shinigami." Ichigo pointed out the fact that Grimmjow herself was a shinigami too. Even if she didn't feel like one.

She laughed again in response and all of the sudden, she was right in front of his face. Ichigo realized that she'd gotten faster than she was before as he took a hard punch to the side of the face and was sent to the floor. He felt a shoe on his chest and knew he'd lost.

"I told ya it was a fluke that you beat me." Grimmjow said with a victorious smile. The fight was a lot shorter than expected and the kids started walking away, mumbling something about Strawberry being weaker than ever. Ichigo would have smacked him one for than, but couldn't get up.

"Yeah, yeah... You win... Now let me up, will ya?" Grimmjow's smirk grew as she got down to one knee, her other foot still on his chest.

"What if I don't wanna?" Grimmjow said through a sadistic smirk. Ichigo knew this was most likely gonna end poorly, but played along anyway. He struggled to get up against her force, much to her amusement. He was stopped suddenly when Grimmjow's lips crashed down onto his. He stopped struggling and went into the kiss as much as he could, enjoying it as much as Grimmjow. It felt weird for him though, being the one getting kissed. Normally it was the guy kissing the girl, but not with Grimmjow. She broke the kiss when their need for oxygen required it.

"I think I like that better. From now on, I'll be the one doing the kissing!" Grimmjow laughed loudly before taking her foot off of Ichigo. Ichigo pounced immediately and tackled her. She was going to fight back until he kissed her. He wasn't about to let Grimmjow get away with a win like that.

"I see you two are having fun." A voice said from behind. Ichigo recognized it as his fathers. They both looked up, Ichigo blushing slightly and Grimmjow grinning like a maniac still.

"Damn right. I kicked your kids ass!" Grimmjow's grin never shrunk and Isshin laughed while Ichigo scowled. His dad opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but they were silenced by a huge burst of reiatsu…

Espada.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry again for the wait… I feel like I'm getting my muse back, and Spring Break just started so =D

Until next time! (Hopefully soon!)


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **I don't really have an excuse for the lateness lol. Bleach cannon has been annoying me lately and it hasn't made me wanna post... Thank you for all the reviews and favorites though. They make me want to finish this story.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Grimmjow, Ichigo, and Isshin all shared one quick look before the kids vanished into Shunpo and Isshin looked for Kon to switch out of his body.

Grimmjow noted that it was a lot of reiatsu's this time, and she could feel Ulquiorra's with them. She cursed under her breath, wondering if everyone could get there in time. It was obvious that her and Ichigo were closest at the moment.

"Grimmjow," Ichigo spoke, speeding up to catch up with her, "If things don't go so good... you need to run. He doesn't care about us, y'know. He just wants you, and there's no way we're going to let him have you."

"I know." She shot back in a cold tone.

"So you'll run?"

"I never said that." She glanced in his direction just in time to see his frustration. He was about to argue some more, but they got to where the garganta had opened. The little captain and his team were on their way, as were Isshin and Kisuke, but when they would get here was a mystery.

Standing in front of Grimmjow and Ichigo was Ulquiorra and 9 Arrancar, two of which were recognized as the Espada that attacked Grimmjow earlier, and when Grimmjow looked closer, she noticed that she could see tattoo's on most of them. She even recognized a few! Next to Ulquiorra was Harribel, then Szayel, then Yammy. then the big guy who claimed to be number four, the girl that killed Grimmjow, then Harribel's 3 fraccion, and last was a thin guy that Grimmjow didn't recognize.

They stared at the duo, the girl that killed Grimmjow's face showing a deal of surprise. Ulquiorra stared blankly at his "queen".

"You're not as dead as I was told, Grimmjow. I'm glad to see this... but you are... different. How did you manage to become a Shinigami?" Ulquiorra spoke in his monotone voice that showed no emotion.

"Same way I do everything else. Fought, killed stuff, then bam! Shinigami. Details are boring anyway." Grimmjows small, yet powerful, hand slipped around the hilt of her new version of _Pantera,_ and her classic bloodthirsty grin came to her face.

"As expected, Grimmjow, you always were a slow learner. Espada, make sure that nobody interferes. I'll handle these two." After Ulquiorra spoke, the verbal response of the Espada was less than pleased. It seemed that they all wanted a shot at Grimmjow. She didn't make very many friends among the Espada, she noticed. They all listened to Ulquiorra though, and disappeared to confront the approaching reiatsu's.

In the next few moments, Grimmjow and Ichigo shared one glance and a small nod before they both disappeared. When Grimmjow reappeared, Ulquiorra wasn't there and neither was Ichigo. She looked quickly around and saw Ichigo hadn't moved an inch. Ulquiorra had _Zangetsu_ in his bare hand and was simply staring at Ichigo.

...how the _fuck_ did she not see him do that?

"You've improved, Grimmjow. I was expecting to get you both. You might be even more useful to me than just being my queen." Ulquiorra's voice pissed Grimmjow off more than she thought it would and she opened her mouth to speak, but Ichigo beat her to it.

"Fuck you! Grimmjow isn't yours and she never will be! Bankai!" _Zangetsu_ lost its large form in Ulquiorra's hand and there was a Getsuga already on the blade. Ichigo shot the thing right at Ulquiorra's chest from point blank range.

He didn't move an inch. The dark spiritual energy simply moved around his body.

"Are you trying to tell me that you think my Grimmjow is yours?" Ulquiorra asked with mock sincerity. Grimmjow didn't give Ichigo a chance to respond and lashed out at Ulquiorra. She swiped at the back of his neck violently.

What happened next, Grimmjow wouldn't even know at the time, but Ulquiorra jumped behind her and simply smacked her, and she went flying away, crashing painfully into a tree. She barely regained her senses before she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, right where her hollow hole used to be. She looked down to see a pale hand releasing the blue hilt of _Pantera_, which was barely even visible, it was stuck so deep into her.

"Be a good girl and stay here. I'd hate to kill you on accident." Ulquiorra said softly, Ichigo too far away to hear. Ichigo didn't seem it realize what happened yet. She understood that Ulquiorra was on a different level, and it was only a matter of time... time until what? She didn't know.

She was snapped away from her thought when a loud CLANG sounded right in front of her. Ichigo had taken another hard shot at Ulquiorra, but there was no change. Ulquiorra caught it and even smirked a little bit before pushing Ichigo back a little bit. Close enough that Grimmjow could see everything clearly, but far enough that she probably wouldn't get dragged in. Probably.

* * *

"You bastard..." Ichigo grunted out as he struggled to even slow Ulquiorra's push. How the fuck did he get so much stronger?

"I'm just taking back what's mine, Kurosaki. You really thought you could really keep her, didn't you?" Ulquiorra smirked once more breaking his stoic personality. Ichigo gritted his teeth until he thought they'd break. This wasn't supposed to happen. He just got his fucking powers BACK, why was he still so powerless?!

"You hurt her. You killed her, once. For that, I'm going to gut you, you sick fucking hollow." Ichigo spoke in pure rage. He would start to realize just how much Grimmjow would really mean to him... and with that thought came the realization that he hadn't even told her yet. He kissed her and reassured her, but he never told her that... he _loved_ her.

That's when Ichigo started to notice something else. He heard something in his head... but he wasn't sure what. Shit... was his hollow back?

He didn't have time to think any longer because Ulquiorra kicked him in the stomach, sending him to his knees with the taste of blood in his throat.

He wouldn't quit, not yet. He swung his sword again, ignoring the burning of his internal bleeding from just a single kick. Ulquiorra deflected Ichigo's Zanpakuto again, but Ichigo followed it up with a Getsuga and another blow right after, then another. He attacked at Ulquiorra ruthlessly and borderline desperately. He found himself screaming as he struck Ulquiorra's chest so hard that the man was sent back almost a foot.

Ulquiorra stood for a moment, touching where he'd been hit, and feeling dabbles of blood. He looked up to Ichigo, who was hunched over and panting.

"You made me bleed... I'm surprised. I'll have to retaliate."

* * *

As Isshin and Kisuke rushed towards the area where Grimmjow and Ichigo were fighting, they were forced to stop. Five Arrancar stood in their way. They were recognized as Harribel, Szayel, Yammy, and the two who had attacked Grimmjow earlier. It was a lot to fight, but Isshin knew that his son was just beyond them and in trouble. He could feel Ulquiorra's immense pressure dwarfing his sons. Not to mention Grimmjow's staggered reiatsu flaring in pain. It was only a matter of time before the two fell to the overwhelming power. So Isshin knew he had no time to play around here.

"Well, well. The shop keeper. I still owe you, ya know?!" Yammy said, laughing as he spoke. He was still cocky ass ever, but with the way the Espada had improved, maybe he had a right to be.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Isshin yelled as he swung his sword, sending a huge blast at the whole group of Espada. Harribel and Yammy both managed to draw their blades to attempt to block the massive attack, with a little success. They minimized the blow, luckily to them and the surrounding area, "I don't have time to be held up by henchmen like you. Get out of my way."

Isshin's voice was deadly serious. As the blast cleared up, it was revealed that his Getsuga had definitely managed to injure at least all of them, but none as severely as it should have.

"I see you're hotheaded today, Isshin-kun~" Urahara said in a seemingly lightheaded tone, but one glance at him ruined the facade. It was clear that Urahara was struggling himself to keep his mind calm and think properly. He'd grown attached and protective over Grimmjow in such a short time, and he knew she was in dire danger right now, "we need to attack carefully and precisely if we want to get passed them faster."

Isshin grunted in response. He didn't like it and neither did Urahara, but it was true. The fastest way to win a fight was to outsmart your opponent, not to overpower him. Even if you were angry.

* * *

Toshiro was rushing to the scene where the Espadas had entered. There was a lot and they were strong. Stronger than before, which worried the captain. He called back up before he left, and was hoping that they'd be able to arrive quickly.

He glanced back to Renji, Rangiku, and Rukia. They were keeping up with him. They seemed extra motivated, which was good. They'd need that. This could turn into a dangerous fight extremely fast, and he knew it.

"Now where do you think these guys are scurrying off to?" A female voice made Hitsugaya stop dead in his tracks. He looked towards it and saw 4 Arrancar walking towards his group slowly, with their hands in their pockets. Rangiku recognized the 3 in front as Harribel's fraccion, but she couldn't recall their names. The other one was a thin, short male who seemed almost nervous to be there.

"We don't need to go anywhere when the targets find us." Hitsugaya said in a cold, icy tone.

"You've got quite the mouth for such a small Shinigami. Are you not worried about your friends? We left them to Ulquiorra, and he's all about business. He's probably killed them both already." Apache, one of the former fraccion, spoke with a sadistic tone and smirk.

"You think Soul Society really cares about a former Espada? We're here to make an example of you guys." Hitsugaya spoke unflinchingly. Rangiku was about to protest, but the tension in the air seemed to choke her before she could. The fight was about to start.

* * *

Ichigo could barely stand. Ulquiorra was far too strong, and all Ichigo could hear was the barking of his inner hollow, whom he thought was gone for good. It wanted to take over, and it wanted to do it now. Ulquiorra sensed the distraction and stopped attacking for a moment.

"I'm rather impressed that you're still standing. I expected this fight to be long over by now. You used to be so full of surprises, you know that?" Ulquiorra paused to let Ichigo respond, but the blonde was panting too hard to speak, though, "I guess you really were just trash."

Ulquiorra disappeared into a soindo and charged at the boy, preparing for the killing blow. When he got near Ichigo, however, he was stopped. A loud clash sounded and Ulquiorra was sent skidding back. When the dust cleared, the first thing he noticed was the striking blue hair that he so envied internally.

"Grimmjow." He stated simply. Ichigo had fallen to a knee, exhausted and panting, watching as his new love fought for his sake. He hated how helpless he was. Hated it.

"You thought you'd be able to keep me quiet, huh? You used to be smart, you know!" Grimmjow snarled and laughed coldly as she charged the man. Her actions made her seem invincible, but in reality she was gravely wounded. She'd started to grow accustomed to Ulquiorra's speed and could track him easier... but she was too fatigued to keep up. Her front was covered in blood from her wound and she was slightly pale. She'd be damned if that stopped her.

"I was hoping that I could finish the trash before you recovered." Ulquiorra said simply as he held his hand out in an attempt to block Grimmjow's blade. Unfortunately, he'd underestimated the girls strength. He was sent skidding back, and _Pantera_ had managed to cut his arm nearly to the bone. He almost let out a hiss of pain, but regained his stoic face before and remained seemingly apathetic.

"You best not take me lightly, you bastard! I'll cut ya in half!" Grimmjow wore her sadistically wide smile as she laughed at his pain. She still resembled the Sexta, a thought that nearly made Ulquiorra smirk.

"I won't make the mistake twice." He promised.

This time, Ulquiorra charged at Grimmjow, his sword drawn. He slashed at her in a downwards strike, and she arrogantly tried to block it with a swing of her own. She thought she knew just how strong he was, but she was wrong. His sword crashed into hers hard enough to bring it down, causing his blade to dig into her shoulder. She hollered in pain as blood shot from the wound. He followed her injury with a hard kick to the stomach that sent her soaring back to the same tree she was pinned to moments ago. That coupled with her stab wound would ensure that she wouldn't move for a little while. Ulquiorra turned his focus back to Ichigo.

"You can't have her, dammit!" He screamed as loud as he could, anger in his voice and venom in his words. Ulquiorra didn't show any form of reaction. He seemed apathetic to the desperate dying kid in front of him.

"You can't stop me." Ulquiorra said plainly. Ichigo growled fiercely at the answer and attempted to rise to his feet, using _Zangetsu_ as a crutch.

"This isn't over, Ulquiorra!" He yelled out, blood flying from his mouth as he did.

"I could kill you... but then I might have trouble later. I think... I'll use you instead." Ulquiorra said with a hint of a smirk.

"...use me?" Ichigo's head popped up in confusion.

"I'll use you to break her will." Came the simple reply as he walked towards Grimmjow. She was on her feet now, but he doubted he heard what he said.

"I'm... not done... yet." She grunted out, pain in her words.

"Grimmjow... you know there's so much more I can use, right? I'm not even trying. You can't stop me, and neither can the boy," Ulquiorra started to talk, but was interrupted as some of the surrounding fights started to carry into the area. It seemed that their backup had arrived, but his Espada were certainly holding the line. After a few moments, his Espada simultaneously disappeared and reappeared in a circle around Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, and Ichigo. The Shinigami reinforcements, looking worse for wears all struggled to get closer. Isshin and Kisuke even seemed to be wounded rather significantly, but they were sure to have done damage as they took it.

"So what will it be, Grimmjow? I can take the boys life here, then finish the wounded dogs that crawled over here... or you can come with me easy." He said flatly and everyone fell quiet, even Grimmjow.

"Don't do it Grimmjow!" Ichigo shouted at her, but in an instant, Ulquiorra had his hand in the boys belly. Tears started to show in Grimmjows eyes as she watched Ulquiorra starting to charge a cero. The Shinigami tried to stop him, but the Espada managed to hold them back, if only barely. Grimmjow watched, in what felt like slow motion, until...

"Alright!" She yelled and the cero vanished. Ulquiorra looked back at her with a half smile as she sat there, nearly weeping for the first time she could remember. "I'll go, okay?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to protest, but Ulquiorra removing his hand from the boys belly shut him up.

"Glad to hear it." He said. It didn't take long for Ulquiorra to walk over to Grimmjow and open a garganta. Grimmjow rose to her feet, glancing back at her new friends, and the Shinigami, with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you." She said simply as the garganta closed with her in it.

* * *

**A/N:** I actually REALLY like the way this chapter came out. O:

Please review and stuff :D I'll try my best to get the next chapter up quickly.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Yay! Another update and it hasn't taken months! xD Thank you for all the nice reviews, I really appreciate them. They make me wanna write. Unfortunately this chapters a lil short :S

I own nothing.

**Chapter 14**

Ichigo wasn't sure if it was from the loss of blood, or the loss of Grimmjow, but his head was spinning. He couldn't focus on anything for more than a few seconds, and his thoughts were nothing but _'no, no, no'_. Tears were in his eyes as he watched where the garganta had closed. He looked around really quickly, the Espada were gone and everyone's attention was on him. He could see their mouths moving, but he couldn't hear their words.

_'Please help me.' _He thought to himself. He didn't expect a response, but today wasn't a day for expected events.

_'So the kings really hit rock bottom now, huh? Kehehehehe. You know, it's funny, I actually LIKED the Espada! Maybe I should save her and make her MY queen, eh?'_ Ichigo's head perked up at the sound of his inner hollow. They rarely spoke, and when they did, it was usually just threats about taking control... _'Don't sound so surprised. I liked that you were in love with a genocidal Espada. I think it was putting you on the path to becoming a real man!'_

Ichigo didn't know what was happening, but he started feeling his wounds close. He felt power flow through his body. What was happening? He looked around and realized that Orihime wasn't anywhere close. How did he... He noticed that his mask was on too. His inner hollow really was back.

Almost instinctively, Ichigo opened his mouth and let out a feral roar, slashing his Zanpakuto across the spot where the garganta had just closed. He could feel power. Lots of power. His hollow was laughing sadistically as Ichigo started to smile. He was going to get Grimmjow back.

It was at that moment that the mask disappeared, and Ichigo fell to his knees. He could hear the voices of everyone around him, but he was too focused on his loss of power.

"No! NO! COME BACK!" He screamed slashing again at the spot where Grimmjow had disappeared. His emotions all hit him like a truck. Tears streamed down his face as he slashed wildly at nothing. He screamed in pain and anger. He couldn't control himself.

He could feel everyone's eyes on him, he caught a glance of them, staring at him with pity and sorrow. Like he needed to be pitied. It pissed him off so much. He hated their eyes...

God, he was starting to sound like Grimmjow. The thought physically hurt him. He screamed again, but this time at his friends.

"What?! What the fuck are you lookin' at?!" He started to draw Zangetsu back to lash out at those damn eyes, but he felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. He was angry when he spun around. He saw his dad standing there, nearly crying himself. It was clear it took a lot of willpower for Isshin to keep it in, and Ichigo didn't have it.

He fell into his fathers embrace, weeping like a child.

"I failed her, dad. I failed." Ichigo repeated as his dad kept holding his son.

* * *

When the garganta opened again it was in the one place Grimmjow hoped never to see again. Las Noches. She'd managed to stop her tears and replace her expression with her cold apathetic stare she'd mastered long ago, but on the inside she felt as though she was falling apart.

"Welcome home, Grimmjow." That bastards voice drove her insane, but she kept up her front.

"This is not my home." She said coldly. Ulquiorra simply looked towards her with his blank stare.

"That boy has really gotten into your head hasn't he? You know it wouldn't have worked out. You know who... what you are. You're a cold blooded killer. An Espada. And he's just some human who was in over his head. Do you really think he would have stayed with you if he knew what you are? What you really are?" Ulquiorra's words were sharp to Grimmjow, but he managed to say them completely apathetically. Grimmjows front faltered. He hit a sore spot with that one. She'd always tried to avoid the subject with Ichigo, but they both knew what she was. An Espada. Slayer of thousands of souls...

"He won't leave me here, you know that? He's going to save me." Grimmjow spoke harshly and assertively. It was almost like she was trying to convince herself, not him. He could tell. He showed a half smile.

"It seems you've forgotten what it's like here already. I'll have to send you to the lower levels for a while. Until you remember, at least." Ulquiorra glanced at Grimmjow to see her reaction. Her face remained straight, but he could see fear in her eyes. She had a really good poker face, but her eyes always gave her away. He could read her like a book.

"I ain't afraid of you, or whatever you got down there." She spoke firmly, as he called for his Espada to take her away.

* * *

Ichigo sat in the spare room at Urahara's shop. Grimmjow's room. He'd stopped crying a few hours after he'd gotten back to the shop, but he didn't talk to anyone. Those were his best friends in there, and he felt like there was nothing they could do to help him. There was no way they could truly understand. His head perked up when he heard the door open. His dad walked into the room. Ichigo remained silent as his dad came into the room and sat next to his son on Grimmjows bed. He put his arm around his kid and they sat there for a few moments.

"Son... There's a time in every man's life where he has to decide what's important to him. You said you failed Grimmjow. Nobody thought that. Not even Grimmjow. There's only one way that you could fail Grimmjow, and that's if you give up on her. You're not gonna do that, right?" Isshin said quietly.

"Never." Ichigo said firmly.

Isshin smiled. He didn't get to have many moments like this with his son. It was one of the fleeting moments where he thought his wife would be proud of him as she looked down on him. Too bad he couldn't let it last. The tension was killing him. He smacked the back of his son's head, sending him crashing to the ground hard. Ichigo looked up, obviously angry.

"Now pick yourself up and get out there. We have to plan another rescue, right? Besides, we sent Hitsugaya-taicho out to request aide from soul society and he should be back any moment now."

Isshin rose and walked out of the room, an angered Ichigo following. In hindsight, Ichigo preferred being angry over sad. When he was angry, he felt empowered, when he was sad, he felt powerless. When Ichigo and Isshin got out to the main room of the store, the mood was similarly somber. Kisuke wasn't as chipper as he always was, the kids were just sitting on the couch, silently playing video games, Orihime, Chad, and Ishida were silently watching Ichigo. Probably judging his mental condition. He still hated that look. After a few moments of silence, a senkai gate opened in the middle of the room.

Out of it walked Hitsugaya, Matsumoto, Rukia, and Renji. They were quiet and slow as they left. That couldn't be a good sign. Hitsugaya was the first to speak.

"After informing the Captain Commander of the situation, he said a few words then called for a captains meeting to discuss a plan of action. We were sent here early out of respect," Hitsugaya looked straight at Ichigo before continuing, "We were told to tell you that... the Espada is not on Soul Societies priorities, and a rescue mission is not to be attempted... I'm sorry, Kurosaki, but she was an enemy of Soul Society, and the Captain Commander is not willing to spill Shinigami blood to save her."

Ichigo's response was to be expected. He was about to yell at the short captain, but Urahara beat spoke first, knowing the boy was on the verge.

"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Kisuke spoke, more serious than anyone had heard him before.

"Well, she was an enemy not long ago. I don't think its crazy to not expect Soul Society to he-"

"SHUT UP!" Ichigo yelled at the short captain, causing everyone in the room to quiet. "I'm going to Soul Society. Now. You say they're still in the meeting?"

Hitsugaya nodded, but held his hand up.

"I was told not to let you go into Soul Society. I'm sorry." The short captain informed Ichigo.

Suddenly, Ichigo's spiritual pressure seemed to explode from him and he stepped up to the captain, hand on the hilt of Zangetsu.

"And you think you can stop me?" Ichigo asked in a deadly tone that nobody had heard from him before.

* * *

**A/N:** Excitement? Disappointment? How was the chapter? I hope it live up to expectations.


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